{"id":822107,"date":"2026-03-20T00:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T00:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/822107\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T00:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T00:08:26","slug":"new-carolina-panthers-lb-was-surprised-by-free-agent-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/822107\/","title":{"rendered":"New Carolina Panthers LB was surprised by free-agent market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask the Carolina Panthers\u2019 newly signed inside linebacker<\/a> about the general noise around him, and you\u2019ll learn he\u2019s a tough guy to faze.<\/p>\n

Case in point:<\/p>\n

When Devin Lloyd<\/a> was asked by a reporter on Thursday about the Jaguars\u2019 decision not to pick up his fifth-year option before the 2025 season, he said it didn\u2019t affect him all that much. The work is what mattered, he asserted. And that never changed. He \u201cjust went out and attacked each day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But there was one thing that stunned him a bit this offseason: the market for linebackers like himself.<\/p>\n

Lloyd ultimately signed a three-year deal worth up to $41.9 million<\/a>, according to Over The Cap. That\u2019s on par with Patrick Queen with the Steelers, with Quay Walker, now with the Raiders. For someone so versatile, Lloyd indicated that he expected the number to be a bit higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was (surprising),\u201d Lloyd said. \u201cBut that\u2019s just the way the market went this year. That\u2019s what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd at EverBank Stadium on Nov. 16, 2025, in Jacksonville, Florida. Rich Storry Getty Images <\/p>\n

Take a look at his impact in 2025, and you\u2019ll understand his surprise.<\/p>\n

Lloyd, 27, had a wonderful season in his final year with the Jaguars. And how do you quantify \u201cwonderful\u201d? Take your pick of metric.<\/p>\n

Start with his coverage. Lloyd finished with seven passes defended and a position-best five interceptions, one of which he took 99 yards for a touchdown. He also played 16 games (15 in the regular season and one in the playoffs) and finished with 87 tackles, two fumble recoveries, 1.5 sacks and a career-high 10 QB hits.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound finished with the third-best defensive grade among all linebackers<\/a>, according to Pro Football Focus, behind only San Francisco\u2019s Fred Warner and Detroit\u2019s Jack Campbell.<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville Jacksonville linebacker Devin Lloyd returns an interception against Chase Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals during a 2025 game in Cincinnati. Kirk Irwin Getty Images Devin Lloyd\u2019s \u2018one-year, prove-it deal\u2019 in 2025<\/p>\n

Such numbers yielded the first Pro Bowl season for the former Utah Ute \u2014 and made it tough for the Jaguars to keep him.<\/p>\n

The team put an offer on the table, Lloyd confirmed Thursday, but it wasn\u2019t enough to keep him from testing the market. And Jacksonville didn\u2019t franchise-tag Lloyd, either. After all, franchise-tag tenders for inside linebackers are the same for OLBs\/pass rushers<\/a>; if the Jaguars were to place the franchise tag on Lloyd, they\u2019d pay him $26,856,000 in 2026. That would make him the highest-paid inside LB from an average-per-year (APY) perspective \u2026 by a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as the fifth-year option, whenever I found out the news, it was just more so, \u2018OK, at this point, I know this is effectively a one-year, prove-it deal,\u2019\u201d Lloyd said.<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd tackles San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, forcing a fumble, during a 2025 game in Santa Clara, California. Ezra Shaw Getty Images <\/p>\n

Then again, try to dig too deep on what made his 2025 so special \u2014 Did you have a different hunger for the 2025 season? \u2014 he\u2019ll stick to a common refrain. He\u2019ll use phrases like \u201cthat\u2019s just reality\u201d and \u201cI didn\u2019t put much into it\u201d and \u201cI just went out and attacked each day.\u201d He\u2019ll say it\u2019s about staying levelheaded \u2014 a product of his faith, he said.<\/p>\n

One thing he will open up on, however, is how coaching opened up his game in 2025. Lloyd specifically called out the work he put in with new-to-2025 defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile<\/a> and linebackers coach Tem Lukabu.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had great coaches last year,\u201d Lloyd said. \u201cAnd they definitely helped me. I give the most credit to them, they (taught) me to use my hands. That was one thing they emphasized. Every day at practice, it was, \u2018Use your hands, use your hands, so you can play violent and physical in the run game, shed blocks and make plays.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd at EverBank Stadium on Nov. 16, 2025, in Jacksonville, Florida. Rich Storry Getty Images \u2018Time to take that next step\u2019<\/p>\n

There is a lot more Panthers fans will get to know about Lloyd over the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n

His parents, Ronyta and Joe, spent 40 combined years in the Navy, so discipline was a key part of his upbringing. Growing up, that meant mowing the grass, washing cars, staying on top of schoolwork. Today, that means never missing a workout or a rehab opportunity.<\/p>\n

He also goes hard at practice, something he doesn\u2019t shy away from. He and his draft classmate (and newly signed Panthers center) Luke Fortner<\/a> can tell you about those battles in the Jacksonville sun.<\/p>\n

Lloyd is also excited for the future in Charlotte \u2014 particularly considering how many splashes the Panthers made in free agency. Not only did the Panthers acquire Lloyd, the top ILB on the market; but they also got one of the best pass rushers in Jaelan Phillips,<\/a> plus some quality offensive linemen.<\/p>\n

So yes, Lloyd might have been surprised by something this free agency.<\/p>\n

But if the Panthers continue their ascent, that wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to him at all.<\/p>\n

\u201c(We\u2019re) just an ascending team,\u201d Lloyd said. \u201cJacksonville was like that at one point as well. Just an ascending team. Made it to the playoffs. Hosted a playoff game, which is huge.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now it\u2019s time to take that next step.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ask the Carolina Panthers\u2019 newly signed inside linebacker about the general noise around him, and you\u2019ll learn he\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":822108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[90704,235,260,2567,5412,7,16251,6,236,10627],"class_list":["post-822107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-panthers","tag-2026-nfl-free-agency","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-carolinapanthers","tag-devin-lloyd","tag-football","tag-jaelan-phillips","tag-nfl","tag-panthers","tag-trevin-wallace"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116258597092478730","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822107","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=822107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/822108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}