Last season too many of the Panthers opposing quarterbacks left the field at the end of the game with mostly clean jerseys. Sure, their jerseys may have been marred by sweat, spit, and maybe a Gatorade spill, but too few of them had grass stains. Lacking a signature edge rusher, the Panthers defense struggled to generate pressure on the quarterback in more than a few games last year.

Carolina’s 35 sacks in 2025 ranked tied for 20th in the league and was miles away from league leaders like the Raiders 64 sacks and the 60 put up by the Jets, Chargers, and Vikings. Carolina lacked a Pro Bowl-type player coming off the edge with the ability to put up double-digit sacks. Generating pressure was a team effort with the highest individual sack totals being the five put up by defensive tackle Derrick Brown and rookie outside linebacker Nic Scourton.

While it’s unlikely the Panthers will (or even can) break the bank for an elite edge rusher in this year’s free agency, there are some under-the-radar players who have proven they can get to the quarterback as reserves. While none of these guys are the silver bullet to fix an ailing Panthers pass rush, they could potentially help Carolina take a step forward in 2026 on low salary cap numbers.

And remember — these are affordable, largely rotational guys. They are inexpensive free agents with estimated cap hits below $5 million. So instead of just saying, “That guy isn’t good!” the right way to think of this is “Could this player at least generate some pressure and a few sacks as a bargain rotational player?”

File this one under “low risk, high reward”. Ojulari was a second round pick in 2021 and has performed well when healthy. It’s just that “when healthy” part that can’t be overlooked. He had eight sacks in his rookie season but was limited to just seven games in his sophomore campaign, but even then he had 5.5 sacks. Between 2023 and 2024 he appeared in 22 games with 8.5 more sacks.

Last year he signed a 1-year, $3 million deal with the Eagles but his season lasted just three games due to a hamstring injury. In all, the 25-year-old has 22 sacks and 67 pressures in 49 career games. Spotrac is estimating his free agent value is just below $2 million, and that may be a gamble worth taking.

The former Clemson star hasn’t lived up to the expectations as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 draft, but seven-year pro can still get to the quarterback. Despite joining four different teams over the last three years, Ferrell has 11.5 sacks and 37 pressures during that span. In 2025 he played a total of nine games betweenthe Chargers and the 49ers and registered four sacks an 11 pressures in just 240 total defensive snaps. That’s not going to get him a Pro Bowl nod, but there’s still some juice left in the tank of the 28-year-old free agent.

Not all pressure needs to come off the edge. Eric Wilson is entering his tenth NFL season and in 2025 put up career highs with 6.5 sacks and 17 pressures on a one-year deal, $2.6 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Spotrac projects his value to be around $4.3 million in 2026 after his solid output last year, though that seems a bit low for a guy coming off a 108-tackle, 6.5 sack season. At 31 years old he could be a good short-term solution for the Panthers.

Justin Strnad, linebacker

At 29-years-old, Justin Strnad is an NFL late bloomer. Originally a fifth-round pick in 2020 he registered just 46 tackles over his first three professional seasons. But over the last two years he has recorded 131 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 18 pressures. He has spent his first five seasons with the Denver Broncos and played last year on a one-year, $2.8 million contract. Spotrac estimates his market value at $3.8 million in 2026.

Tim Settle, interior defensive line

Through eight NFL seasons Tim Settle has 15 career sacks, which isn’t bad for rotational interior defensive lineman. As recently as 2024 he had five sacks, 14 pressures, and 31 tackles. Entering his age-29 season he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Settle just finished playing out a two-year, $6 million deal with the Houston Texans and Spotrac estimates his market value at $3.7 million this year.