Grading Each Carolina Panthers Free Agency Signing
The Panthers have been plenty active in free agency so far. But have their roster moves made sense?
From the start of the offseason, much of what we’ve heard about the Carolina Panthers is that they wanted to be aggressive in their approach.
And, wow, were they ever.
On Monday, the Panthers were one of the biggest spenders (and actually handed out the biggest contract in all of free agency).
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Carolina rounded out their roster a bit more with some depth signings. And while the team certainly is not done making moves yet, I think we’re in a good enough place to grade the most notable transactions.
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Panthers sign wide receiver John Metchie III to a one-year contract.
John Metchie has had a rough go at it during his NFL career. Before playing a snap for the team that drafted him (Texans), he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia.
Houston then found contributing receivers elsewhere, and taking a year off of football can really make things hard from a developmental standpoint.
Metchie has since bounced around from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New York Jets, totaling 29 catches for 256 yards and two touchdowns in nine games for New York.
To date, that’s his best season in the NFL.
And look, I’m not going to kill the Panthers for adding a player that is essentially on a training camp contract, but I would be surprised if Metchie made this Carolina roster come fall, especially with the amount of competition there looks to be thus far.
Who knows, maybe there will be some leftover chemistry from the Alabama days with Bryce Young?
Grade: D
Panthers sign left tackle Stone Forsythe to a one-year contract.
Stone Forsythe is going to be competing for a swing tackle job on this Panthers roster. He’s nothing special, but has made starts for a Las Vegas team that had one of the worst offensive lines in football last season.
And to be honest? I actually don’t hate the process here. Many will point to how poor things were throughout the 2025 season for Forsythe, but if I’m being honest?
Sometimes a change in scenery can turn a bad offensive lineman into a respectable one.
I’m not saying Forsythe will be a consistent starter for the Panthers (or even someone that makes the roster), but there are so many offensive linemen that are put in untenable coaching situations and look much worse as a result. And that Raiders offensive coaching staff last season was a mess.
But Joe Gilbert and company? Maybe they’ll find something in Forsythe. I don’t hate the swing.
Grade: B
Panthers release defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, save $10M.
A’Shawn Robinson was one of the more underrated players on this Panthers football team this past season.
He was a consistent early-down run defender that paired well alongside Derrick Brown, and even filled in well in Brown’s absence during the 2024 season.
Robinson tallied 64 tackles and eight sacks over two seasons in Carolina. That’s solid production for being in a heavy rotation.
I think Robinson is a good player, and the Panthers should have been more aggressive in finding a way to keep him on the roster.
$10M isn’t a cheap price tag, though, especially with some of the moves we’ll be talking about in a minute.
But usually is it not a great sign when a player is released that he's immediately signed for more money than you saved. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ouch) almost instantly signed Robinson upon him hitting the market on a one-year, $10.5M contract.
Grade: C
Panthers maintain special teams unit.
The Panthers re-signed Thomas Incoom, JJ Jansen, Isaiah Simmons, and Akaleb Evans, each to one-year contracts.
All four of those players were a big part of Carolina’s special teams approach. Simmons in particular really shined as he joined the team late into the season, even blocking a punt in the Panthers’ wild card matchup against the Rams.
Grade(s): A
Panthers sign center Luke Fortner to a one-year, $4.75M contract.
I will grade this alongside letting Cade Mays sign with the Detroit Lions on a 3-year, $25M deal.
I think Luke Fortner is actually one of the better bets that Carolina could have made at center, especially in the absence of Cade Mays.
The Saints offensive line actually performed much better as the season went along, as Fortner took over for the injured Erik McCoy. Granted, some of the production can be attributed to the team switching from Spencer Rattler to Tyler Shough, but typically rookie quarterbacks are more reliant on their centers pre-snap.
I’m not saying Fortner was responsible for the Saints offense just exploding down the stretch, but I do think he had a part to play.
Fortner had the 7th-best pass blocking grade among centers, according to PFF.
Losing Cade Mays is a big loss for Carolina, but I think Fortner is someone that should come in and start for this Panthers team - and be consistent in doing so. In terms of an on-the-margins move, this one saved money while maintaining quality at the position.
I still would like to see Carolina spend a late-round pick on the interior offensive line, though.
Grade: A
Panthers sign quarterback Kenny Pickett to a one-year, $5M contract.
I get it, I get it, this is standard backup quarterback money. But man, this is just really underwhelming (especially when the Panthers are still going to be paying Andy Dalton in some capacity).
Kenny Pickett just isn’t good, even as a backup quarterback. In his last three starts, Pickett has three touchdowns, three interceptions, and two fumbles. That’s just not tenable, even as a backup quarterback.
He’s more mobile and will fit the Canales/Idzik offense more than Dalton did, but that’s about it. I would’ve preferred someone with a bit more promise (and variance) like Zach Wilson.
I’ve also never been a huge fan of paying real dollars to a backup quarterback. If the goal is to never want to turn to them, why invest serious roster cash into them?
I’m hoping the Panthers use a day three pick at the position.
Grade: F
Panthers sign linebacker Devin Lloyd to a three-year, $45 million contract.
Devin Lloyd was downright awesome for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025, and a big reason as to why the team won 13 games.
Lloyd accrued 81 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and five interceptions on his way to becoming a second-team All-Pro in 2025. He’s got first-round pedigree and has consistently gotten better throughout his career.
The Panthers are getting Lloyd as he enters his prime.
For the price, it’s somewhat surprising to see Jacksonville let him sign elsewhere. $15M per year for an All-Pro linebacker (even if it is just one season) feels like a bargain. I mean, Lloyd is set to make as much as Jamien Sherwood and Nick Bolton (despite getting less guaranteed money than both of those players).
Dan Morgan attacked the linebacker position (like he said he would in his combine media availability), and Lloyd should pair well with Trevin Wallace on passing downs.
Lloyd had the third-highest PFF grade (89.1) among all linebackers for the 2025 season. It’s hard to see any issues with the process from Carolina here.
Grade: A+
Panthers sign edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to a four-year, $120 million contract.
I, like many, was the victim of a massive sticker shock when I first saw this contract. I thought there was a realistic shot that the Panthers would target Jaelan Phillips in free agency, but I did not anticipate it being in the $30M/year range.
That’s not to say Phillips isn’t a good player. And the more I’ve sat with the deal, the more I’ve come around to like it:
Phillips is a perfect scheme fit for Ejiro Evero’s defense. You can drop him in, he’s ready to go from day one. The Eagles run an almost-identical scheme.
Phillips is the 8th-highest-paid edge rusher in terms of average annual value. That will almost certainly decrease over the course of his contract, and more edge rushers are paid.
Phillips is a really good player that, while not having the elite sack production that typically warrants a deal of this caliber, consistently generates pressure.
Put simply, there were not many ways for the Panthers to guarantee that their pass rush would be upgraded for the 2026 season (draft picks are never guaranteed to work out, just look at Xavier Legette).
Phillips was one of the best edge rushers available this offseason, is coming off of a very productive and healthy season, and will only be entering his age-27 season.
That combination is hard to come by, so it’s easy to see why the Panthers were in on Phillips in such a major way.
We have to address the red flags though.
Phillips has had three different major injuries - one to his neck in college, one to his ACL, and one to his achilles.
The fact that Phillips is even able to perform how he did in 2025 is a testament to the work that he can put in, but we do have to acknowledge that he is simply going to be more prone to missing games.
This is a high risk-high reward signing that undeniably could prove worthy for the Panthers. A lot needs to go their way on this one, but I think it could happen.
Grade: B