Last week we learned from ESPN that Panthers defensive end Mario Addison is expected to test free agency, even though the team remains interested in him. On Wednesday, the Athletic confirmed Addison will hit the market. They also reported that left guard Greg Van Roten and free safety Tre Boston are expected to do the same.

Addison has been Carolina’s top pass rusher for a while now, leading them in sacks the last few seasons. Losing him to another team would undoubtedly hurt the pass rush, but at least the Panthers have a potential superstar coming up at the same position in Brian Burns. If Addison does sign elsewhere, Burns moves up and becomes a full-time starter.

The alternatives for Boston and Van Roten are less ideal, though.

Since he left the Panthers after the 2016 season, Boston has been bouncing around the league on a series of one-year deals, first with the Chargers, then the Cardinals, then back to Carolina. While he has played well, a long-term contract has eluded him. Re-signing Boston would be a smart move in our opinion. However, it seems like he’s going to be one of the rebuild/retool casualties.

The problem is there’s absolutely no suitable substitute on the roster who can play his spot. Eric Reid can occasionally fill in at free safety in a pinch, but his coverage is too suspect to do it regularly. Reid is a much more natural fit closer to the box as a strong safety or linebacker.

The backup safeties on the roster don’t exactly inspire much confidence, either. Colin Jones is a career special teamer and the few times he has played safety it hasn’t gone well, while the likes of Natrell Jamerson and Quin Blanding don’t have enough experience.

There are a few quality safeties who are about to become free agents like Boston. The best of them is Anthony Harris of the Vikings, who led the NFL in interceptions last season. However, if the Panthers aren’t interested in paying the 27-year old Boston, they probably won’t be signing another veteran. Most likely, they’ll have to find a new starting free safety in the draft. Antoine Winfield’s kid is our favorite in this class, but there are a few others worth considering.

As for Van Roten, he seems like a much easier piece to replace. While he’s a strong run blocker, he also just turned 30 years old and his pass protection was a serious problem in 2019. On the roster, the most logical successor is Dennis Daley, who played a few games at left guard last year when Van Roten went down with an injury. He’s still got a lot to learn but he did flash a few times.

The situation was complicated by the team’s baffling decision to trade right guard Trai Turner to the Chargers in exchange for left tackle Russell Okung. That move (to be made official next week) leaves Carolina very thin at guard in general. Unless they’re planning to give a guy like Tyler Larsen a much larger role, they’ll have to add at least two more serviceable guards between now and the start of the season.

In free agency, the top options are Joe Thuney and Brandon Scherff. Paying for guards would be an unusual move for a “rebuilding” franchise, though. This is another position they’ll probably address in the draft. The good news there is that it’s a very deep offensive tackle class. Picking one of the blue-chip OT prospects early in the draft and sliding them inside to guard would alleviate a lot of concerns about the offensive line.

[lawrence-related id=619317]

[vertical-gallery id=619205]