The Panthers went into the offseason knowing that left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is unlikely to be available for some time as he recovers from a torn patellar tendon and they addressed that reality multiple times.
Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan signed Rasheed Walker as a free agent and then used the team’s top draft pick on Monroe Freeling, which sets up a competition that is going to be one of the focal points of the next few months for the franchise.
“In terms of Monroe, he’ll compete with Rasheed,” Morgan said on NFL Network. “We were lucky to get him in free agency, another guy we think highly about, a veteran who’s played a lot of games in this league. We feel like we have a lot of optionality there and looking forward to seeing those guys compete.”
Ekwonu could be back at some point this season and Taylor Moton remains a reliable right tackle, so the Panthers may wind up with more options than places to put them at some point this fall. Given how hard it can be for some teams to find two tackles, Morgan would likely file that as a good problem to have.
Panthers Clips
The Panthers restructured the contract of cornerback Jaycee Horn.
Joseph Person of TheAthletic.com reports that the restructure will create $13.1 million in cap space for the Panthers to sign their rookie class.
The Panthers converted $16.4 million of Horn’s salary into a signing bonus and added a void year to his deal.
Horn, 26, signed a four-year, $100 million extension before the 2025 season.
He appeared in 16 games and totaled 37 tackles, one tackle for loss, five interceptions and eight passes defensed in 2025.
The Panthers got six draft picks signed before the start of their rookie minicamp.
The group is headlined by first-round pick Monroe Freeling. The offensive tackle signed a four-year deal with the team and the Panthers will hold an option for a fifth season.
Freeling was the 19th overall pick last month. He will make $20.9 million over the next four years with a signing bonus of $11.6 million.
Third-round wide receiver Chris Brazzell, fourth-round cornerback Will Lee, fifth-round center Sam Hecht, fifth-round safety Zakee Wheatley, and seventh-round linebacker Jackson Kuwatch all signed four-year deals. Second-round defensive tackle Lee Hunter is the only unsigned pick in Carolina.
In addition to the draft picks, the Panthers also signed 10 undrafted free agents. They are Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King, Notre Dame cornerback DeVonta Smith, Duke defensive tackle Aaron Hall, SMU edge rusher Isaiah Smith, Rutgers cornerback Cam Miller, Texas defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau, Baylor wide receiver Kobe Prentice, Wisconsin defensive tackle Parker Peterson, Mississippi State offensive lineman Albert Reese, and Vanderbilt offensive line Isaia Glass.
The Panthers have picked up quarterback Bryce Young’s fifth-year option, meaning he’s under contract through 2027 and is guaranteed a salary of $25.9 million that year. Now the question facing Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan is how many more years, and how much more money, he wants to commit to Young.
Morgan told Adam Schein of SiriusXM that a long-term contract is being discussed, although Morgan didn’t sound like he’s in a hurry to get a deal done.
“I’m actually signing his fifth-year option today, we’re picking that up. In terms of long-term contract, that’s something that we’re talking about here internally, and we’ll do it at the right time,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the Panthers are pleased with Young’s growth through Year 3.
“Getting back to Bryce, obviously he came into a really rough situation in terms of coaching staff, maybe you could say the talent around him wasn’t great as well,” Morgan said. “So to come in as a rookie and come into a really tough situation where we had a coaching change, a lot of shuffling around the building, so for Coach Canales to come in here and provide stability, for him to be in the system now going on three years in a row, I think you see him just getting better and better every single year. Understanding the offense, he’s such a good processor, and a guy that’s just a pleasure to have around the building every day. As you see him mature, you see him become a better leader every single year. And the operation’s getting faster every year. So we really feel like the arrow is up with Bryce.”
With two more years on Young’s current deal, the Panthers don’t need to rush to get a long-term contract done. They’re pleased with his progress to this point, but they may want to see more from him before they’re willing to pay him like a franchise quarterback on his second contract.
Former NFL quarterback P.J. Walker has announced his retirement.
Walker had been playing for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders and the team announced on Thursday that he was stepping away from the game. Walker’s agent confirmed to 3DownNation.com that Walker is retiring.
Walker signed with the Colts in 2017 after going undrafted out of Temple and spent time on their practice squad for three years before starring in the XFL during the 2020 season. He returned to the NFL with the Panthers and made his first NFL start that year.
Walker would start seven times over three seasons in Carolina and he made two starts for the Browns in 2023. He was 185-of-339 for 2,135 yards, six touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 21 overall NFL appearances.
Calgary signed Walker after he was released by the Seahawks in 2024 and he appeared in 13 games for the team last season.
Bryce Young is officially under contract for the 2027 season.
The Panthers announced on Wednesday that they have exercised their option on the quarterback’s contract for next year. The team indicated earlier this month that they planned to make that move once the draft was over.
Young is now set to make a guaranteed salary of $25.904 million in 2027.
Young was the first overall pick in 2023, but had a rough rookie year and was benched early in 2024. He returned to the starting lineup after Andy Dalton was involved in a car accident and played well enough to cement his hold on the job for 2025. There were ups and downs last year, but the Panthers won the NFC South and lost a squeaker to the Rams in the Wild Card round in January.
The next big question for Young and the Panthers concerns a multi-year contract extension. Young is eligible to sign one at any time, but it remains to be seen if the team will wait to push for one until they have more on-field information to use in their decision to tie their future to the quarterback.
Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks is continuing to make progress in his bid to return to action.
The Panthers took Brooks in the second round of the 2024 draft after tore his right ACL during his final season at Texas and he made his debut in the middle of his rookie season. Brooks tore the same ACL again in his third NFL game, however, and he missed all of last season while recovering from his second injury.
Brooks progressed to the point that the team was making plans for him to take part in the offseason program this year and he provided an update on how he’s feeling at a Tuesday press conference. Brooks said that he’s been “cleared by my surgeon” and is closing in on feeling all the way back to full strength.
“Feels good getting back to the football movements,” Brooks said. “Obviously it’s something I have to work on. Feel close to 100 percent, getting there. Still just going with the plan they have for me.”
Chuba Hubbard and Trevor Etienne are back with the Panthers from last season and they signed AJ Dillon as a free agent. How Brooks will fit into that backfield mix will be one of the things to watch as the Panthers’ offseason continues to play out.
The Panthers are adding an undrafted quarterback to their roster.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that they have agreed to terms with former Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King. King will reportedly receive $250,000 in guaranteed money as part of the deal.
King, who visited the Panthers during the pre-draft process, was a three-year starter at Georgia Tech after transferring from Texas A&M. He was 252-of-361 for 2,951 yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions last season. He also ran 185 times for 953 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The Panthers signed Kenny Pickett and Will Grier as free agents to back up earlier this offseason. They also traded last year’s backup Andy Dalton to the Eagles.
The Panthers have selected offensive tackle Monroe Freeling with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Freeling played his college ball at Georgia. He started 18 games at left tackle in his career, including the final five games of the 2024 season and 13 contests in 2025.
He was a second-team All-SEC honoree last season.
The Panthers had a need at offensive tackle with Ikem Ekwonu suffering a ruptured patellar tendon in the club’s playoff loss. Now Freeling can be a candidate to replace Ekwonu while he heals.
There’s been speculation in recent weeks about the Panthers using their first-round pick on a wide receiver and they’d be hoping for the same kind of results they got when they added a wideout at the top of the draft in 2025.
Tetairoa McMillan was named the offensive rookie of the year after catching 70 passes for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns. A repeat of that production would be welcome in Carolina, but the wideout believes there’s room for more.
McMillan said this week that he lost weight over the course of his rookie season, but has added about 10-15 pounds this offseason to get closer to his college weight.
“I wasn’t used to playing that small, I felt pretty weak,” McMillan said, via the team’s website. “I didn’t have my power back, so that was pretty much the main focus this offseason for me.”
McMillan said he believes that change “allows me to be faster, stronger” than he was last season and that prospect should be a pleasant one for the Panthers regardless of what they do on Thursday night.
