{"id":794435,"date":"2026-03-05T19:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/794435\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T19:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:32:14","slug":"what-are-futures-contracts-and-who-have-the-panthers-signed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/794435\/","title":{"rendered":"What are futures contracts and who have the Panthers signed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers<\/a> are coming off an 8-9 season and surprising NFC South division title.<\/p>\n

While many Panthers players who were on the active roster last season are already under contract for 2026 as the team hopes to build off last year\u2019s success, there are a handful of fringe players Carolina is either returning from last year or bringing in new for the upcoming campaign. Players who weren\u2019t on the roster at the end of the season – mostly practice squad players, undrafted free agents, and other under-the-radar guys – are eligible to sign something called a \u201cfutures contract\u201d with any team.<\/p>\n

Futures contracts are mutually beneficial to the team and to the players who choose to sign them.<\/p>\n

From a team perspective, futures contracts allow front offices to bring back younger players and bring in some new blood who could show improvement over the offseason. After signing futures contracts players can\u2019t negotiate with, sign with, or be poached by another team. These players count against Carolina\u2019s 90-man camp limit, but not the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n

From a player compensation standpoint, those who sign futures contracts are usually paid the league minimum given their years of experience. These deals rarely include signing bonuses. But the money is often secondary for these players who are operating on the outer orbits of the NFL universe. What they\u2019re really getting is a measure of security by being able to work out with the team during the offseason, strengthen relationships with teammates and coaches, and hopefully prepare themselves to make the 53-man roster the following season.<\/p>\n

Futures contracts are usually a win-win.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the list of the players the Panthers have signed in 2026 as they look to repeat as NFC South champions.<\/p>\n

Running back – Montrell Johnson, Anthony Tyus<\/p>\n

Wide receiver – Dan Chisena, Ja\u2019Seem Reed, Ainias Smith<\/p>\n

Guard – Ja\u2019Tyre Carter, Saahdiq Charles, Joshua Gray<\/p>\n

Linebacker – Maz Mwansa, Jacoby Windmon, Jared Bartlett<\/p>\n

Outside linebacker – Jamil Muhammad<\/p>\n

Cornerback – Tyrek Funderburk<\/p>\n

Safety – Demani Richardson<\/p>\n

Ainias Smith, wide receiver<\/p>\n

The Panthers are desperate to upgrade their wide receiver room, and Ainias Smith has at least an outside shot at sticking around Carolina for another season. He played his college ball at Texas A&M before being a fifth round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 draft. He appeared in seven games during his rookie season, which is nothing to sneeze at given the Eagles won the Super Bowl that year. In 2024 he produced seven receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n

He was released by Philly after his rookie season and signed with the Panthers practice squad last year. At 24 years old and now in his second season in Carolina, he still has some upside.<\/p>\n

Unlike many players on futures contracts, Charles is a five-year NFL veteran who has appeared in 37 career games, including two last year for the Panthers. Originally a fourth round pick in the 2020 draft, Charles played four seasons for the Washington Commanders, starting 18 of 35 games in which he appeared.<\/p>\n

However, in 2024 he signed a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans and won the starting guard spot, but then unexpectedly retired<\/a>. He \u201cunretired\u201d in 2025 and ended up landing on the Panthers practice squad last October. The Panthers need quality depth across the offensive line, and Charles has been a starter in the past. At 26 years old, he\u2019s still in his prime, provided he has overcome his previous challenges that led to him briefly stepping away from the NFL.<\/p>\n

Jacoby Windmon, linebacker<\/p>\n

Windmon is a familiar name to Panthers fans. He came to Carolina in 2024 when the Panthers signed him to their active roster from the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. That year he appeared in eight games with two starts for the Panthers, recording 22 tackles and 1.5 sacks. In 2025 returned to Carolina and spent most of the season on the practice squad, though he did appear in one game playing nine special teams snaps. The Panthers need linebackers, and this will be Windmon\u2019s third year in the system. Perhaps he makes the leap in 2026, his age-25 season.<\/p>\n

Demani Richardson, safety<\/p>\n

Speaking of familiar names on the Panthers defense\u2026Demani Richardson came to Carolina in 2024 as an undrafted free agent. He surprised everyone by not only making the roster that year, but starting five of 14 games with 51 tackles and an interception. Richardson returned to Carolina last year but his role was largely reduced to special teams work. Last season he appeared in 13 games for the Panthers with 29 defensive snaps and 167 on special teams, registering seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Look for Richardson to at minimum reprise his special teams role, and hopefully he can grow into a quality depth player in the secondary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carolina Panthers are coming off an 8-9 season and surprising NFC South division title. While many Panthers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,3701,4789,2585,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":["post-794435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-panthers","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-carolina-panthers-depth-chart","tag-carolina-panthers-free-agency","tag-carolina-panthers-roster","tag-carolinapanthers","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-panthers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794435","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=794435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}