The Panthers are adding one of quarterback Bryce Young’s former college teammates.
Receiver John Metchie is signing a one-year deal with the club, via Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Metchie, 25, was traded twice in 2025 — first from Houston to Philadelphia in August, then from the Eagles to the Jets in late October. He made much more of an impact with the Jets, catching 29 passes for 256 yards with two touchdowns in nine games. He had just four receptions for 18 yards with Philadelphia.
In all, Metchie has caught 73 passes for 686 yards with three touchdowns in his career. He’s appeared in 45 games with 10 starts since being selected in the second round out of Alabama.
The Panthers have reworked the contract of one of their defensive players and they’ve come to terms on a new deal with another one.
Defensive tackle Derrick Brown has the contract that’s been restructured. Per Spotrac, Brown had $16.9 million of his salary converted to a signing bonus in order to clear $13.5 million in cap space for the coming season. They also added void years to the deal in order to spread out the cap hit over a longer period of time.
That space will help with the team’s moves to add linebacker Devin Lloyd and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to the roster.
Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer reports that the Panthers have also agreed to re-sign linebacker Trevis Gipson. Gipson joined the team as a waiver claim during the 2025 season and he had 12 tackles and a sack in nine games for the team.
The Panthers have agreed to terms with free agent offensive tackle Stone Forsythe, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
Forsythe was in Seattle for two seasons with Panthers head coach Dave Canales.
The Seahawks drafted Forsythe in the sixth round in 2021, and he spent his first four seasons in Seattle. He played 53 games with 14 starts.
He began last season with the Giants before joining the Raiders for the start of the season. Forsythe’s 13 starts last season were a career-high.
He has appeared in 70 games with 27 starts in his five seasons in the league.
The Panthers will be without Ikem Ekwonu at the start of the season as he works his way back from a torn patellar tendon. Backup tackle Yosh Nijman is a free agent.
The Panthers lost free agent center Cade Mays on Monday when he agreed to a deal with the Lions. They replaced Mays on Tuesday by agreeing to terms on a one-year deal worth up to $4.75 million with Luke Fortner, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
Fortner, who turns 28 in May, played last season in New Orleans after a trade from Jacksonville on Aug. 17. He had taken a pay cut to remain with the Jaguars before the trade.
He entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Jaguars in 2022, and he started every game for the team in his first two seasons. Fortner, though, made no starts in 2024.
In New Orleans, he played all 17 games, with 10 starts.
The Panthers confirmed reports that they have re-signed Isaiah Simmons on Tuesday afternoon and they also announced deals with two other players from their 2025 roster.
Wide receiver David Moore and linebacker Thomas Incoom will both remain with the team. No terms were announced for either deal.
Moore had 32 catches for 351 yards and three touchdowns for Carolina during the 2024 season, but he missed most of last year with an elbow injury. He had one catch for five yards in four regular season games before landing on injured reserve.
Incoom had 25 tackles in 25 games while appearing almost exclusively on special teams the last two seasons.
The Panthers also waived defensive tackle Popo Aumavae.
