{"id":686698,"date":"2026-01-18T16:22:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/686698\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T16:22:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:22:45","slug":"5-free-agents-the-carolina-panthers-must-target-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/686698\/","title":{"rendered":"5 free agents the Carolina Panthers must target in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers<\/a> may have gotten to the playoffs and gone down to the wire<\/a> with the vaunted Los Angeles Rams, but they still have holes. They need to address a lot of issues. <\/p>\n

They can and should do a lot in the draft<\/a>, but free agency is first<\/a>, and those players are all proven commodities. There are some crucial positions the Panthers really need to pay attention to this offseason. <\/p>\n

For the purposes of this article, we’re skipping the Panthers’ own free agents, like Rico Dowdle or Cade Mays. Those will be featured in another article. <\/p>\n

The Panthers need to go after these free agentsSterling Shepard\"Sterling<\/p>\n

Dec 11, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard (17) looks on against the Atlanta Falcons during halftime at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Even as WR3, Xavier Legette just doesn’t cut it. He has failed to make an impact, and the Panthers need a reliable third receiver behind Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan. Jimmy Horn Jr. is too raw and gadget-esque, and David Moore probably won’t be back. Brycen Tremayne is a special teams player. <\/p>\n

Enter Sterling Sheperd, or someone of that nature. The Panthers need a reliable weapon who is serviceable but not good enough to eat into targets for Coker and McMillan. Dyami Brown, Kalif Raymond, Jalen Nailor, and others make sense, too. <\/p>\n

Devin Lloyd<\/p>\n

The Panthers need a linebacker in the worst way. At times, Trevin Wallace looks decent, but he’s hurt constantly. Christian Rozeboom probably won’t be back after an underwhelming year, leaving the position in flux. <\/p>\n

The Panthers can draft someone, but it is smarter to spend big on someone here and draft other positions. Devin Lloyd is going to cost upwards of $20 million, but he’s almost must-add. The Jaguars defense was so much better with him on the field, and the Panthers’ D will be, too. <\/p>\n

Rashid Shaheed<\/p>\n

As a potential receiver, Rashid Shaheed is interesting, although Shepard (or someone similar) makes a lot more sense to be WR3. However, it might be better to go after Shaheed, because he brings something to the table the Panthers badly need.<\/p>\n

Trevor Etienne was not a good returner, proven by his muffed punt (and near-muff later) against the Rams. Even when he did catch it, good returns were few and far between. Shaheed brings a new dynamic to the return game that Carolina badly needs. <\/p>\n

Alohi Gilman<\/p>\n

The Panthers need another safety so that Nick Scott doesn’t get abused in coverage anymore. They have Lathan Ransom and Tre’von Moehrig, but they’re both the hard-hitting, run-defending archetype more than they are coverage players. <\/p>\n

Alohi Gilman is a good name who can do that while also helping some in the run game. Additionally, the Baltimore Ravens safety will not break the bank, which is good for a needed but not crucial upgrade. <\/p>\n

Dante Fowler Jr.<\/p>\n

The edge needs to be addressed in the first round of the NFL draft, but the Panthers would also greatly benefit from a short-term veteran addition. The player needs to be better than Jadeveon Clowney, DJ Wonnum, and Pat Jones have been. <\/p>\n

Dante Fowler Jr. is a nice example, and he’d be a good add for one year. The Panthers can cut Jones to save money, sign Fowler, and have him mentor Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen, and a rookie edge. <\/p>\n

– Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI –<\/p>\n

Panthers predicted to go after All-Pro edge in free agency<\/a><\/p>\n

Panthers may have been right to keep Ejiro Evero at DC<\/a><\/p>\n

Studs and duds from heartbreaking Panthers\u2019 loss in playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

Big free agency decision looms for one key Panthers player<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carolina Panthers may have gotten to the playoffs and gone down to the wire with the vaunted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-686698","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-carolina","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-carolinapanthers","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115917025845399834","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}