CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – The Carolina Panthers lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 31-34, on Saturday in Charlotte, bringing their surprisingly competitive season to an end.
The loss came in Carolina’s first playoff game since January 2018, when it lost to the Saints in New Orleans. Carolina had not hosted a playoff game since January 2016.
Now with the season over, the focus will shift to the offseason.
First up will be the start of free agency, which officially opens on March 11. Then, the NFL Draft will take place April 23-24.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) carries after a catch during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)(Jacob Kupferman | AP)Looking ahead to free agency
The Panthers have nearly two dozen players set to hit free agency but perhaps none bigger than running back Rico Dowdle.
Dowdle — who grew up in North Carolina — burst onto the scene a month into the season and played so well he took the starting job from Chuba Hubbard.
Dowdle signed a one-year deal to join Carolina in 2025 and put up a career high in scrimmage yards and touchdowns this season, and was a big reason the Panthers made the playoffs. It was just a year ago that Carolina paid Hubbard big and extended him, and after drafting running backs each of the past two years, it seems either Hubbard or Dowdle will be the odd man out come 2026.
Another key free agent for the Panthers this spring is linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who started 15 games in the regular season and was the team’s leading tackler. Like Dowdle, Rozeboom was also only on a one-year deal.
Starting center Cade Mays is another player in line for a new contract this offseason, and has earned it after Carolina took him in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.
Veteran safety Nick Scott is also now out of contract.
Wide receivers Jalen Coker and Brycen Tremayne are others on expiring deals but with their status as “exclusive rights” free agents, it is essentially entirely up to Carolina whether or not they will want to bring them back. Coker seems a lock to return in 2026.
Panthers own 19th pick in 2026 draft
With the Panthers’ loss in the wild card round, they will automatically get the 19th pick in this spring’s draft, as they had the worst regular-season record of the teams eliminated this weekend.
Picking near the middle of the first round, Carolina will have a chance to get an impactful player and they do have positions of need.
One of those positions is linebacker, especially if they choose not to resign Rozeboom. Another is edge rusher. No Panther had more than five sacks in the regular season, and the team’s total of 30 ranked 28th out of the 32 NFL teams.
In ESPN’s latest mock draft, the outlet had the Panthers choosing Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq with the 19th pick. That would give quarterback Bryce Young another nice weapon alongside Tetairoa McMillan and Coker.
Barring any trades, the Panthers would have seven picks in the 2026 draft, with one in each of the first, second, third and fourth rounds, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.
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