Grading the signing: Panthers finally land the top left tackle on the market to address an immediate need at an incredible value
The Carolina Panthers have acquired their starting left tackle for the 2026 season.
The fantastic offseason led by general manager Dan Morgan continues for the Carolina Panthers in free agency after once again playing out the market perfectly to address an immediate position of need for the team going into the 2026 season.
So far, Morgan has added an impact pass rusher in Jaelan Phillips and a new franchise linebacker in Devin Lloyd, two signings no one expected the team to land together. The only complaint after the first wave of signings was whether or not the team would fully address the left tackle position.
Starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu suffered a torn patellar tendon in the team’s wild card playoff loss, an injury that will for him to miss likely the entirety of the upcoming season. His immediate replacement, Yosh Nijman, announced his retirement earlier in the week. The lone addition the front office made at the position this week was signing Stone Forsythe, a player with experience playing for head coach Dave Canales, but one who’s reputation left little to be desired.
Finally, on Friday, the Panthers made a real significant addition to the position that will easily solve the team’s 2026 troubles when it comes to protecting the blindside of quarterback Bryce Young.
Carolina Panthers were smart to wait out adding a LT after signing Rasheed Walker
Looking for a stopgap left tackle is usually a tough business. Team’s rarely let a good, at worst, left tackle hit the open market, and if they do, they cost a fortune. Look at last offseason when Dan Moore, Jaylon Moore, and Cam Robinson all signed multi-year deals worth $10+ million a year.
The Panthers knew they would have to navigate this situation carefully and avoid overpaying for a veteran or using a high draft pick considering Ekwonu is still in the team’s long term plans once he fully recovers. A solution finally presented itself in Rasheed Walker, who is signing with the team on a one-year, $10 million deal, far less than many expected. Walker entered free agency as the top left tackle on the market but had little suitors as the week progressed.
For more on what the Panthers are getting in Walker, I spoke with A to Z Sports Green Bay beat writer Wendell Ferreira.
“When David Bakhtiari got hurt again and saw his career end after one week in 2023, the general expectation was that Yosh Nijman would step in as the starting left tackle. But a young former seventh-round pick stepped in and took the job over. That was Walker, in his second NFL season, protecting the blind side of first-year starter Jordan Love.
For three years, Walker was never a rock-solid player, but he was an average, starting-caliber left tackle — and that has a lot of value. And while the ceiling isn’t necessarily high, the consistency is valuable — he allowed 33 pressures in 2023, 35 in 2024, and 34 in 2025. In total, he had 2,901 snaps at left tackle and eight as a sixth lineman for the Packers. His run block is limited, much worse than his pass protection capabilities, and that’s one of the reasons why the Packers decided to move on with former first-round pick Jordan Morgan. But Rasheed Walker offers a package that’s hard to find in free agency.”
Timing, somehow, worked out perfectly for Carolina. Few teams were in the market for a starting left tackle this offseason, which allowed the Panthers to wait things out with Walker and sign him at really good value. And now all options are fully open with the No. 19 pick in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft next month.
Grade: A
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