An encouraging 2025 season proved something important about the Carolina Panthers. Their offensive line wasn’t fragile; it was resilient.
What the offseason is revealing, however, is something far more complicated.
Carolina spent last year trying to survive constant injuries up front. They practically built an entire season around adapting to them. But now the franchise faces a tougher challenge, replacing the very flexibility that made its survival possible.
The Panthers entered 2025 by re-signing centers Austin Corbett and Cade Mays, retaining utility lineman Brady Christensen, and deciding not to cut swing tackle Yosh Nijman. They ended up needing every single one of them.
Carolina Panthers need to find the balance between cost and continuity
Injuries hit nearly every position. Robert Hunt tore his biceps early, Christensen suffered a torn Achilles, and multiple linemen rotated through injured reserve. The result was 10 starting line combinations in the first 13 weeks, 11 during the regular season, and 12 by the playoff game.
The projected starting five played just 64 snaps together all year. Yet the performance didn’t collapse.
Carolina finished tied for 12th in sacks allowed and ranked in the top half of the league in yards before contact in the run game. Only 59 rushing attempts were stuffed, the fifth-fewest in the NFL. The Panthers didn’t rely on stars playing every snap. They relied on interchangeable parts.
Mays began the year as a backup and started 12 games at center. Corbett started all three interior positions. Nijman played both tackle spots. Christensen covered all five positions when healthy. And left guard Damien Lewis was the only lineman with over 900 snaps.
That flexibility allowed quarterback Bryce Young to continue progressing even while the lineup changed weekly.
Carolina technically has core starters locked in. But that stability is misleading.
Ekwonu is recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon suffered in the playoffs, and the Panthers’ most important trait, depth versatility, is at risk of disappearing entirely. Their unrestricted free agents include Mays
Christensen, Nijman, and Jake Curhan. Carolina likely cannot re-sign all of them.
Reports already suggest Mays and Christensen are the priorities due to age and versatility, while Corbett’s injuries and age complicate a return. But Mays may command a strong market, meaning even the preferred plan isn’t guaranteed.
The biggest immediate concern sits in the middle of the line. Both primary centers from 2025 are free agents. The only in-house option is Nick Samac, a developmental player who logged zero offensive snaps.
The problem now isn’t injuries. It’s the players who made surviving injuries possible that may be gone from the franchise.
Carolina proved it can win without stability in the lineup. The 2026 offseason will determine whether it can win without roster stability.