Dan Morgan has one more signing up his sleeve ahead of training camp to address a key depth spot on the Panthers roster
The Carolina Panthers have remained in contract with free agent offensive lineman Brady Christensen about a potential return by training camp once he’s cleared from his 2025 injury.
Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan turned in one of the best offseasons in the league over the last few months with the additions he’s made to this roster between free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft. And he has one addition more up his sleeve.
According to Panthers On Tap, the Panthers have remained in contact with free agent offensive lineman Brady Christensen, who’s currently rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles he suffered in Week 8 of the 2025-26 season. Christensen is expected to be cleared by the start of training camp and could be back in Carolina.
The Panthers drafted Christensen in the third-round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He started 34 of 59 games played over the last five seasons as a high-quality depth player up-front.
Carolina Panthers would be smart to bring Brady Christensen back into the fold
Back during the draft process, after the Panthers elected not to sign a depth interior offensive lineman, I floated a few different backup guard prospects for the Panthers to consider late in the draft including DJ Campbell and Beau Stephens.
The decision not to draft a backup guard, or sign one, was a questionable move and now the process makes much more sense if the team decides to bring back Christensen.
Carolina has two established guard options in Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt. Both players are getting ready to turn 30-years-old and Hunt already had to deal with one significant injury last season after missing 15 games due to a torn biceps.
Behind those two, the depth at guard throughout the offseason program consisted of Chandler Zavala, Saahdiq Charles, Joshua Gray, and Ja’Tyre Carter. It’s not the most inspiring group of depth options and Christensen would easily be the best of the bunch once he’s healthy and actually brought back.
Last season, Christensen had the team’s third-highest pass blocking grade (74.7) and the third-highest offensive grade (72.5) among the offensive linemen while allowing just one sack and five total pressures on 152 pass blocking snaps.
Bringing him back for training camp would be a no-brainer decision and finally give the Panthers some optimistic depth on the interior again behind Lewis and Hunt. The more quality offensive line talent, the better, for a team looking to sustain a long winning season in 2026.