The Carolina Panthers have signed one of the best defenders in free agency.
All-Pro linebacker Devin Lloyd has inked a reported three-year, $45 million deal with $25 million guaranteed to leave the Jacksonville Jaguars and join the Panthers.
Lloyd will join the Panthers after completing his four-year rookie contract with the Jaguars. He was named to his first Pro Bowl and named second-team All-Pro after the 2025 season.
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Jaguars declined Lloyd’s 5th-year option
The Jaguars selected Lloyd in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft and had a fifth-year option on his contract. He largely failed to meet those first-round expectations through his first three NFL seasons, and the Jaguars declined to pick up his option.
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But he had a breakout campaign in 2025 with a new contract at stake. And the Panthers jumped on the opportunity to sign the first-time All-Pro in free agency.
In 15 games in 2025, Lloyd produced a career-high five interceptions. He also posted 81 combined tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 7 passes defended, 1 fumble recovery, 1.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
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He returned one of his interceptions off Patrick Mahomes 99 yards for a touchdown to help ice a Week 5 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on “Monday Night Football.”
The play announced Lloyd’s emergence to a broader NFL audience and helped cement his All-Pro status.
Lloyd joins a Panthers team that won the NFC South despite an 8-9 record for its first playoff appearance since the 2017 season. The Panthers have landed one of the NFL’s most exciting young defenders in their effort to build off that success.