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.
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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.
The Panthers are keeping a former first-round pick in their building.
Per a report from NFL Media, Carolina has agreed to re-sign safety Isaiah Simmons.
Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
Simmons joined the Panthers in late November on the team’s practice squad. He was later signed to the 53-man roster and blocked a punt in the postseason loss to the Rams.
Simmons had spent 2025 training camp with the Packers but was let go during roster cuts.
The No. 8 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Simmons played his first three seasons with the Cardinals before being traded to the Giants during training camp in 2023.
He has appeared in 89 career games with 42 starts, recording five interceptions, 21 passes defensed, nine forced fumbles, and 8.5 sacks.
The Panthers are parting ways with a veteran defensive lineman.
The team announced the release of defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson on Tuesday afternoon. Robinson had one year left on his contract in Carolina.
Robinson’s departure will clear a little more than $10 million in cap space for the coming season. They will retain a little over $2 million in dead money as well.
Robinson played in 33 games over the last two seasons. He had 145 tackles, eight sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in that action and he also had three tackles in the playoffs last season.
Derrick Brown, Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown, and Cam Jackson remain on hand at defensive tackle.
The Panthers added a couple of big names to their defense on Monday and they announced that fans will have to pay a bit more to watch Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd play their home games on Tuesday.
In a letter to season ticket holders, the Panthers announced, via Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer, that the “overall blended ticket price” for seats at Bank of America Stadium will increase by 12 percent for the 2026 season. The team said their average ticket price is projected to be the 23rd-highest in the league.
It’s the third straight season that the Panthers have increased ticket prices. They went up by four percent in 2024 and six percent last year.
The Panthers will host the Falcons, Saints, Buccaneers, Bears, Lions, Ravens, Bengals, Seahawks and Broncos during the 2026 season.
The Panthers added players like Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd to their defense on Monday and they announced the return of a couple of their own defensive players on Tuesday.
They have re-signed defensive lineman LaBryan Ray and cornerback Robert Rochell. They did not announce the terms of either deal.
Ray was on track for restricted free agency after playing in 46 games for the Panthers over the last three years. He has 73 tackles and a sack over his time in Carolina.
Rochell split last season between the Cowboys and Panthers. He appeared in four games once joining the Panthers and has 30 tackles, an interception and three fumble recoveries in 54 career games.
The Panthers have made another move to improve their defense.
Via Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, Carolina has agreed to terms with former Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd. Per the report, it’s a three-year, $45 million deal. Of the amount, $25 million is guaranteed.
A first-round pick in 2022, the Jaguars decided after three seasons not to pick up his fifth-year option. With 2025 becoming a contract year, Lloyd made the Pro Bowl and landed on the All-Pro second team.
The Panthers signed Eagles edge rusher Jaelan Phillips early in the day.
Lloyd’s biggest play in 2025 happened in the Monday night win over the Chiefs. He dropped into coverage near the goal line, intercepted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.
Three pumps for three rivers. (We know, we know. It was only two.)
Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who signed a one-year deal in Carolina a year ago, has agreed to terms with the Steelers, per Jordan Schultz.
Terms have not yet been reported.
Earlier today, Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell, the team’s MVP in 2025, agreed on a two-year, $14 million contract with the Buccaneers.
In 2025, Dowdle had 1,076 rushing yards and 297 receiving yards in 17 regular-season games. In Week 5 and Week 6, he had back-to-back games with more than 200 yards from scrimmage.
Dowdle signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Panthers a year ago, after spending his first four seasons with the Cowboys. During his final year in Dallas, Dowdle had 1,079 rushing yards.
