Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Panthers have made a few costly blunders in their history on the free-agent market.
We’re getting closer and closer to the first round of free agency under the Dan Morgan and Dave Canales regime. But let’s hope they don’t make anything close to the mistakes you’re about to see.
Here are the six worst free-agent signings in Carolina Panthers franchise history:
The Cardinals trimmed the roster by four players on Monday.
The Arizona Cardinals must trim their roster down to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon and began that process with some roster moves on Monday.
Among them, veteran offensive lineman Pat Elflein, signed as veteran insurance at guard and center, was placed on injured reserve. He did not appear in the preseason.
He had only appeared in 22 games over the last three seasons because of injuries, and getting hurt bit him again.
The Cardinals also announced three player cuts. They cut quarterback Colt McCoy, cornerback Nate Hairston and safety Sean Chandler.
Neither Hairston nor Chandler is a surprise. Cutting McCoy, who was the first-team quarterback all offseason, is a surprise.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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We have a look at OL Pat Elflein and his chances of making the final 53-man roster.
The Arizona Cardinals open training camp at the end of this month, so we will do a roster review, highlighting each player currently on the roster, going over last season, their salary and cap number, questions they face and what their expected roster status will be.
Next up is OL Pat Elflein.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
The Cardinals added Elflein this week. We have the details of his one-year contract with the team.
The Arizona Cardinals added veteran offensive lineman Pat Elflein to the roster during the first week of training camp.
The details of his contract are in, according to Over the Cap.
It is a small deal.
It is a one-year contract for the league-minimum salary of $1.08 million.
The Cardinals gave him $25,000 as a signing bonus. There is a $45,000 roster bonus, which probably is if he makes the final roster.
According to Over the Cap, his cap hit will be $1.01 million.
Elflein was drafted in the third round in 2017 by the Minnesota Vikings. He has been a starter his entire career, whether it is playing center or left guard. He has started 64 of the 65 games he has played in the league.
However, he has not been able to stay healthy. He has played a total of 22 games (all starts) over the last three seasons.
He might be the Cardinals’ starting center by the end of the preseason, but if he isn’t, the Cardinals are taking very little risk with his contract.
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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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Elflein has started 64 games at center and left guard since 2015 but has only played in 22 games over the last three seasons.
All offseason, it felt like the Arizona Cardinals would address the center position with an established veteran.
It took until training camp, but among the roster moves they made on Tuesday as the players reported for training camp, they finally did that.
They announced the addition of offensive lineman Pat Elflein.
He has the experience in the NFL to be their starting center and should immediately compete with Hjalte Froholdt.
Elflein has started 64 games at center and left guard, playing for the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.
He was in Minnesota when Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was on the coaching staff.
He is 29 years old but has played in only 22 games over the last three seasons.
Even still, he gives the Cardinals an established veteran to play the center position.
They signed Froholdt in free agency and he has manned the first team at center all offseason but only has started six NFL games, four at center.
But the move, at minimum, creates a legitimate competition for the starting job, which is good. If Froholdt holds off Elflein, great. If Elflein wins the job, hopefully he can stay healthy.
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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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From Austin Schlottmann to Jerry Huth and everyone in between, we take a look at everyone who has worn No. 65 for the Minnesota Vikings.
It’s the final countdown…
Well, sort of.
The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 65 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.
From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players that have worn that specific jersey number.
Offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann is currently wearing the number for the Vikings. Before him, Pat Elflein and John Sullivan wore the number for an extended period.
With 65 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 65 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):
Former Texas Tech wide receiver Keke Coutee among the veteran free agent tryouts at New Orleans Saints minicamp:
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The New Orleans Saints aren’t just gathering everyone under contract for training camp — multiple veteran free agents are trying out during the three-day series of practice sessions. This was the case last year, too, when the Saints brought in running back David Johnson and some other players who later signed during the season.
Sports Illustrated’s John Hendrix first reported that offensive lineman Pat Elflein and wide receiver Keke Coutee were among the tryouts at Tuesday’s workout, which was confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. What’s the word on them?
Elflein, 28, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds and played college football at Ohio State. He’s a career center who was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round (at No. 70 overall) in 2017, having also spent time with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers while starting 64 of the 65 games he’s played in the NFL. He was college teammates with several Saints stars like cornerback Marshon Lattimore and wide receiver Michael Thomas.
Coutee, 26, weighs in at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds and was a standout at Texas Tech in college. He was picked by the Houston Texans in the fourth round (at No. 103 overall) in the 2018 draft but played for the Indianapolis Colts the last few years. He was a favorite target of Patrick Mahomes’ in Texas Tech’s wide-open passing attack, but he’s struggled to find much success in the NFL while averaging just 2.6 receptions for 29.3 receiving yards per game in his pro career.
We’ll get a better idea of which free agents the Saints are hosting for tryouts when the daily NFL transactions wire updates on Tuesday afternoon, but this is a good opportunity for veteran players to look for work and for the team to address any lingering holes on their depth chart.
Update: Hendrix and Underhill add that former Kentucky wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. was also in attendance on a tryout basis. The 25-year-old former Las Vegas Raiders third-round pick (No. 80 overall in 2020) is listed at 5-foot-11 and 203 pounds, but has bounced around the league while struggling to find his footing in the NFL. He’s also played for the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.
Additionally, Underhill reports that while the Saints are interested in bringing Elflein in for a tryout, he’s biding his time to see if an opportunity to start opens up around the league before settling for a role as a backup.
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The Panthers are currently carrying over the fifth-highest amount of dead money into the 2023 season. Here’s why:
The Carolina Panthers may be carrying around the second-most salary cap space in the NFL right now, but they’re also carrying something else—a load of dead money.
As we enter June, the Panthers are being charged with $51.5 million of dead money for the 2023 campaign. That total ranks fifth in the league.
So, with the help of Spotrac, let’s see how they got to that bulky number.
The Panthers called it quits on Pat Elflein after two seasons of a three-year, $13.5 million deal.
Pat Elflein apparently became expendable yesterday, after the Carolina Panthers solidified their starting offensive line with the signing of center Bradley Bozeman.
On Tuesday, the team announced its release of the six-year veteran. He’s played the last two seasons in Carolina, primarily at the center position.
Elflein cracked into the NFL as a third-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2017. The Ohio State Buckeye would spend almost four years there, before being traded off to the New York Jets after appearing in just one game during the 2020 campaign.
That offseason, the 6-foot-3, 305-pounder would become a hog molly—signing on in Carolina to the tune of a three-year, $13.5 million agreement. But his time with the Panthers was marred by a few setbacks.
A hamstring injury limited him to nine games in 2021. Then, a hip injury sustained in Week 6 would end his 2022 season.
The release will save the Panthers $4.26 million in cap space.
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With Panthers C Pat Elflein likely done for the season, it’s time for Bradley Bozeman to keep shining.
On Wednesday, Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks all but put a cap on Pat Elflein’s 2022—telling reporters his usual starting center is likely done for the rest of the year. Elflein, who was placed on injured reserve last Saturday, is now likely to undergo season-ending hip surgery.
And now that the usual starting center is no longer the starting center, it’ll be Bradley Bozeman handling this offense’s snaps for the foreseeable future.
Bozeman made his first start last Sunday, an outing met with considerable success in a rout of a stout Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. Pro Football Focus gave the 27-year-old lineman an overall grade of 93.2—the highest single-game grade for any center this season.
Before that sparkling debut, Bozeman was a key cog for the Baltimore Ravens, helping form one of the most consistent and ferocious running games in the league. Whether he was MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson’s primary ball snapper in 2020 or a reliable left guard the three years prior, the University of Alabama product successfully found his place at the pro level.
A notable offseason addition for general manager Scott Fitterer, Bozeman signed with Carolina on a one-year, $2.8 million pact. That, in fact, was a relatively modest amount given his performance in Baltimore.
But, he knew he would get his opportunity to prove his worth with a rebuilding Panthers front. And one game in, he’s done exactly that.
Should he continue the stellar play we saw last week, when he contributed to a dominant run game that averaged over 7.0 yards per carry, he should become a priority for the team this offseason. So will that bet on himself continue to pay off?
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