David NewtonJan 30, 2026, 07:00 PM

CloseDavid Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s not a sexy list. Only a handful of the 18 Carolina Panthers set to become unrestricted free agents could be listed as players who must be re-signed.

That’s good because the Panthers, despite making the playoffs with an 8-9 record this past season as the NFC South champions, can use the roster space to upgrade multiple positions.

The biggest plus is they won’t be in the market for a starting quarterback with Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft, showing signs of development as their franchise quarterback.

The roster remains a work in progress for general manager Dan Morgan, whose staff already had 600-plus names on their draft board three weeks ago. But it all starts with free agency.

“You’re never one player away, so I think we’ve just got to be smart,” Morgan said at his season-ending news conference. “We’ve got to be disciplined in our process and approach like we’ve been and just stick to that model.”

Top priority

The Panthers’ top offseason priority isn’t actually an unrestricted free agent. It’s locking in wide receiver Jalen Coker for the long term. He’s an exclusive rights free agent, so the Panthers simply could tender him an offer for the league minimum to ensure he’s on the roster for 2026 at a low cost. But coach Dave Canales has already declared that Coker will enter the offseason as the No. 2 receiver behind 2025 first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan.

Panthers’ 2026 UFAsPos PlayerRB Rico DowdleWR David MooreG Brady ChristensenC Austin CorbettG Jake CurhanC Cade MaysOT Yosh NijmanOLB D.J. WonnumOLB Trevis GipsonLB Christian RozeboomLB Krys BarnesCB Akayleb EvansCB Robert RochellCB Damarri MathisS Nick ScottS Isaiah SimmonsP Sam MartinLS JJ Jansen

The dilemma is that Coker doesn’t have a long track record to prove he can do what he did in the NFC playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams (9 catches, 134 yards, 1 TD) consistently. But if the team truly believes in Coker and wants to develop him with Young, the time to lock him in at a reasonable price is now.

The good news for Carolina is the 2024 undrafted free agent out of Holy Cross is saying all the right things in terms of his future: “I’m just excited to play for this team, that’s all it is. All that other stuff, it is what it is. I’m just excited to be here.”

Biggest dilemma

Left tackle. There’s a good chance Ikem Ekwonu, the sixth pick of the 2022 draft, misses part or all of the 2026 season after suffering a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee against the Rams. Carolina already is committed to paying him $17,560,000 for his fifth-year option. Had he not been injured, negotiating an extension this offseason would have made sense. Now the Panthers are in a position where they need to assure Young has solid protection on his blind side.

They could use their first-round pick (No. 19) to draft a tackle, pick up one in free agency or re-sign Yosh Nijman. Re-signing Nijman, 30, could make sense because he is familiar with the system and has been solid as a replacement. Drafting a tackle also makes sense because Carolina doesn’t know how Ekwonu will bounce back from such a devastating knee injury.

Morgan hasn’t drafted an offensive lineman in his first two seasons as GM and said adding young players there is key to “stay ahead of the curve” after spending $150 million on guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt during the 2024 offseason.

“We’re not going to be reckless, but at the same time, we’re going to bring talent in here,” Morgan said. “We’re going to make moves that we feel like will help us out in the future.”

Rest of the O-line

The interior with Hunt and Lewis is set, as is right tackle Taylor Moton, who is under contract through 2027 after signing an extension in August. So re-signing center Cade Mays becomes a priority. Mays has been a solid run blocker and has improved in his pass protection. At 26, he seems like a safer option than 30-year-old Austin Corbett, whose history of injuries since 2022 is concerning.

Corbett’s ability to play center or guard might make him worth bringing back as depth, but developing young talent is part of Canales’ mantra. Re-signing Brady Christensen may make more sense. He can play guard, center and tackle if necessary.

Rico Dowdle left the Cowboys as a free agent to sign with the Panthers last offseason, and he may be on his way out of Carolina this offseason. Grant Halverson/Getty ImagesCrowded backfield

Morgan said he had a good meeting with Rico Dowdle, Carolina’s leading rusher from 2026 (1,076 yards). Dowdle, however, didn’t sound happy with the way his season ended, carrying the ball seven times for 10 yards in the regular-season finale and five times for 9 yards in the wild-card game.

“That definitely is a factor,” he said after the playoff loss. “There’s options for me. I just want to be a guy who can go out there and just get the bulk [of the carries].”

That may not happen with the Panthers, who have Chuba Hubbard locked in through 2028 with a four-year, $33.2 million deal he signed in 2024 and Jonathon Brooks, the 2024 second-rounder, returning from a torn right ACL. Carolina also has 2025 fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne.

Unless Dowdle wants to return at a bargain price, he appears headed to his third team in three seasons.

The defense

Among the unrestricted free agents are edge rusher D.J. Wonnum, middle linebacker Christian Rozeboom and safety Nick Scott.

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Wonnum had eight sacks in his final season with the Vikings but has totaled seven in two years with the Panthers at a position that needs upgrading.

Morgan admitted after the season that the pass rush — with the league’s second-lowest pressure rate (16.5 %) and third-fewest sacks (30) — was “not up to par.” It might be time for the Panthers to spend here in free agency with Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson, Philadelphia’s Jaelan Phillips and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Odafe Oweh set to become UFAs.

Carolina also needs an upgrade at middle linebacker. For as well as Rozeboom played against the run, leading the team with 122 tackles, he was a detriment in pass coverage. Retaining him makes sense only if it’s a team-friendly deal. Scott had a career-high 111 tackles in 17 starts, but the Panthers need more speed on the back end. Re-signing him for a rotational role makes sense.

The rest

Based on performance, there’s no reason to think long-snapper JJ Jansen, 40, and punter Sam Martin, 35, won’t be back. But Morgan did have a funny line about them in his season wrap-up:

“We’re the fifth-youngest team in the NFL right now, so we’d probably be a little higher if we didn’t have them on our team. They’re all really good players, and they’re guys we value around here. So yeah, I think they can play as long as they want to, but it’s a two-way street. We have to figure out what’s best for us.”

Bringing veteran wide receiver David Moore back could makes sense because of his leadership and familiarity with Canales’ system, but his ability to make the roster could depend on which upgrades Morgan makes in the draft and free agency. More speed and big-play ability is needed.