{"id":842331,"date":"2026-03-30T04:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T04:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/842331\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T04:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T04:48:15","slug":"ranking-carolina-panthers-top-8-free-agency-moves-so-far-from-good-to-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/842331\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking Carolina Panthers’ Top 8 Free Agency Moves So Far, From Good to Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers have been pretty busy throughout free agency<\/a>, much busier and much more aggressive than anyone expected. They’ve shelled out some huge contracts. We’re taking a look and ranking all of them. <\/p>\n

We will also include some of the notable re-signs, like Isaiah Simmons, since those can be good moves, too. <\/p>\n

Stone Forsythe<\/p>\n

Stone Forsythe is one of the most curious signings of the offseason. He’s a camp body, or at best a depth piece that we all hope will never see the field. It’s not a bad deal or anything, but there are better options. Signing a depth piece without a starter is odd, too, but as a swing tackle who probably won’t play, it’s a fine deal. <\/p>\n

John Metchie\"New<\/p>\n

New York Jets wide receiver John Metchie III (3) makes the catch and touchdown | David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

John Metchie is actually a good signing, so this is where the Panthers started really doing well. He’s Bryce Young’s former teammate on a low-risk deal. He could be good, and if not, he’s just the WR4 and a free agent again next year. But if the chemistry returns from college, then it could be a major steal. <\/p>\n

Trevis Gipson<\/p>\n

Who had the lone sack in the Panthers’ playoff game last season? Trevis Gipson, who proved to be a solid midseason acquisition off the 49ers’ practice squad. Gipson will be a special teamer who rotates in off the edge sometimes, and he was decent in that role last year. <\/p>\n

Kenny Pickett<\/p>\n

Kenny Pickett is a good backup to have.<\/a> He’s been around, but he’s still somewhat young. If Bryce Young goes down, he is capable enough, and he’s an upgrade over Andy Dalton. There’s just not a good reality where Pickett ends up providing anything to the Panthers, cause if he plays, something is wrong. <\/p>\n

Isaiah Simmons\"Carolina<\/p>\n

Carolina Panthers linebacker Isaiah Simmons (27) reacts in the first quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Isaiah Simmons is not the All-Pro defensive hybrid so many expected him to be in the 2020 draft, but he’s an excellent special teamer. He showed that in just a few games with Carolina last season, so bringing him back for a full year is an extremely smart move. <\/p>\n

Jaelan Phillips<\/p>\n

This is a really good signing. Jaelan Phillips is a really good player<\/a>, and his sack totals might finally catch up to his pressure metrics this year. That said, he is a bit overpaid, and he has a troubling injury history. This was a case of making sure a player signed at all costs, so it isn’t the best move. <\/p>\n

Luke Fortner<\/p>\n

The Panthers needed a center<\/a> with Cade Mays landing with the Detroit Lions. Luke Fortner is a capable starter on a very cheap contract. It’s only one year, so the Panthers can still draft an understudy to have another cheap center for the next few years. <\/p>\n

Devin Lloyd<\/p>\n

Devin Lloyd might be the best signing <\/a>any team has made in free agency. No team needed a linebacker more, and Lloyd was the best on the market by far. That alone makes it a win, but getting him for less than the expected price range is a masterclass by Dan Morgan. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carolina Panthers have been pretty busy throughout free agency, much busier and much more aggressive than anyone…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842332,"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-842331","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\/116316323626241257","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842331","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=842331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}