Panthers Mock Offseason: Restructures, extensions, trades, free agent signing predictions, and mock draft

Projecting the offseason moves Dan Morgan can make to get the Carolina Panthers over the hump.

Kole Noble — Chicago Bears News Writer
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Sep 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan before the game at Bank of America Stadium.
Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan before the game at Bank of America Stadium. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

With the NFL Scouting Combine set to take place this week, there’s no better time than now to sit in the hypothetical big chair and break down what the weeks ahead could look like for the Carolina Panthers.

General manager Dan Morgan has been pretty open about some of the pressing issues that linger on this roster after the team’s playoff appearance from last season. Some of those issues include addressing the pass rush, finding a starting linebacker, adding more speed on offense, and putting a developmental quarterback behind Bryce Young.

Using tools from Over the Cap, Spotrac, and Stick to the Model, we created a mock offseason to do just that, and more. Here is what we think the Panthers should do this offseason.

Starting salary cap space: $12,574,504

Roster Cuts

  • DT A’Shawn Robinson
  • TE Tommy Tremble
  • QB Andy Dalton

The easy cap casualty for the Panthers is cutting A’Shawn Robinson, who currently has a $10.5 million cap hit and can save the team $8.4 million if he’s released. Cutting Tommy Tremble saves the team $4 million in cap space. The decision to cut Andy Dalton is a bit different and hurts the team initially if they can’t find a trade partner. But, it’s clear the team will move on from him and I don’t foresee any team lining up to trade.

Cap space after roster cuts: $19,473,502

Contract Restructures / Extensions

  • RG Rob Hunt (Restructure)
  • CB Jaycee Horn (Restructure)
  • DT Derrick Brown (Restructure)
  • LG Damien Lewis (Extension + Restructure)
  • WR Jalen Coker (Extension)

A base restructure with Rob Hunt ($11.5 million), Jaycee Horn ($12 million), and Derrick Brown ($11.3 million) saves the team a bulk of cap space with those three moves alone. The Panthers can then save another $3.6 million by extending the contract of Damien Lewis and restructuring the money over the five years of the deal.

The first move with those savings is extending Jalen Coker to a two-year, $10 million deal as opposed to offering him the tender. He’s earned this kind of money and is expected to be the team’s WR2 next season, so he deserves to be paid like it.

Cap space after restructures/extensions: $52,873,502

Re-signings

  • C Cade Mays (two-year, $24 million)
  • OT Yosh Nijman (one-year, $4 million)
  • WR Brycen Tremayne (one-year, $1 million)
  • P Sam Martin (one-year, $1.5 million)

The decision between bringing back Brady Christensen or Cade Mays was a tough one at first, but with Austin Corbett heading to free agency, the smart move is paying up for Mays to lock in a starting center. After that, re-signing Yosh Nijman is a must to have a starting left tackle in the building with Ickey Ekwonu expected to miss the majority of, if not all, the season. The other two re-signings were simple deals to keep Brycen Tremayne and punter Sam Martin.

Cap space after re-signings: $34,373,502

Free Agent Signings

  • LB Kaden Elliss (two-year, $19 million)
  • TE Isaiah Likely (two-year, $18 million)
  • WR Tutu Atwell (one-year, $3 million)
  • QB Zach Wilson (one-year, $3.5 million)

After all of the restructures and re-signings, there simply wasn’t enough for the Panthers to go big-game hunting for a top defensive end like Trey Hendrickson so I used the free agent budget to instead acquire a starting linebacker in Kaden Elliss while giving Bryce Young a top weapon at the tight end position for the first time in his career in Isaiah Likely.

Using the leftovers, I took a one-year flier on a speedy WR in Tutu Atwell while giving Dan Morgan a young and athletic quarterback to develop behind Young in former second overall pick Zach Wilson.

Cap space after free agent signings: $9,373,502 (for draft picks and in-season spending)

2026 Mock Draft

  • Round 1, pick 19: Akeem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami
  • Round 2, pick 51: Josiah Trotter, LB, Missouri
  • Round 3, pick: 83: Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas
  • Round 4, pick: 119: Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina
  • Round 5, pick 157: DJ Campbell, OG, Texas
  • Round 5, pick 161: Aaron Anderson, WR, LSU
  • Round 6, pick 199: Nolan Rucci, OT, Penn State

Since we didn’t bring in a top edge rusher, that’s the direction we went with in the first-round by selecting Akeem Mesidor, who has obvious age concerns but is coming off a productive 2025 season. On Day 2, the linebacker and cornerback positions get some solid depth with Josiah Trotter and Malik Muhammad.

With Nick Scott hitting free agency, the Panthers are comfortable with Lathan Ransom stepping into a starting role but I still wanted to add some depth there as well with Jalon Kilgore. My favorite pick of the draft was Aaron Anderson, who could push Atwell out by the end of the season as the speedster on offense. The other two picks were used to bolster the offensive front with an interior player in DJ Campbell and a reserve tackle in Nolan Rucci.

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