{"id":950574,"date":"2026-07-20T10:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/950574\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T10:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:48:20","slug":"carolina-panthers-best-and-worst-offseason-move-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/950574\/","title":{"rendered":"Carolina Panthers\u2019 Best and Worst Offseason Move in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"70\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/2026-nfl-training-camps-report-dates-locations-announced-for-all-32-teams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The rookies report on Tuesday and the veterans the following day.<\/a> It\u2019s back to the practice field for Dave Canales\u2019s Carolina Panthers. The short-lived offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers inherited a 2-15 team in 2024 and led them to three more wins for a 5-12 mark.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">This past season, there were three more victories. And while there still hasn\u2019t been an above-.500 campaign since a 11-5 finish in 2017, the arrow appears to be pointing upwards for a franchise won the NFC South this past season albeit with an 8-9 resume.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"76\">Since being promoted to president of football operations\/general manager Dan Morgan, the former star linebacker for the organization has improved the roster in a big way. Here is a look at the team\u2019s top acquisition this season, along with a somewhat-questionable move.<\/p>\n<p>Panthers\u2019 Best Offseason Move: Drafting DT Lee Hunter<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxzdbvdx3s54kttzn7.jpg\" alt=\"Texas Tech's Lee Hunter\" title=\"Texas Tech's Lee Hunter\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7j\"\/><\/p>\n<p>USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7n\">Morgan opened up the checkbook in March to sign pass-rusher Jaelan Phillips (4 years, $120 million) and 2025 Pro Bowl linebacker Devin Lloyd (3 years, $42 million) away from the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7q\">The former played in a combined 18 games in 2025 (including playoffs) with the Dolphins and Birds, this after missing a combined 22 contests with Miami from 2023-24. He and Nic Scourton gives defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero a pair of pass-rushing bookends that could get better as the season wears on.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7t\">The versatile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/devin-lloyd-most-important-panthers-newcomer-jaelan-phillips\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Lloyd did a lot of everything for the eventual AFC South champions<\/a>, and was tied for second in the league with five interceptions. <\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Friendly reminder that Lee Hunter is 6\u20193, 320 pounds and can move like this \ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n<p>Most underrated addition of the offseason. \ud83d\udd25<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Panthers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#Panthers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/KeepPounding?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#KeepPounding<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uXGyPfFt1Y\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/uXGyPfFt1Y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SleeperPanthers (@SleeperCarolina) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SleeperCarolina\/status\/2078535102586409178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">July 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7z\">However, the choice here is Hunter, a second-round pick from Texas Tech who brings a lot of size (6\u20193 1\/2\u201d, 318) and aggressiveness that should make a big difference up front. The Panthers allowed an NFL-worst 179.8 yards rushing in 2024, and that improved to 123.3 yards per outing this past season. But Evero\u2019s defense struggled to stop the run during the second half of 2025. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/lee-hunter-perfect-complement-derrick-brown-panthers-defense\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Hunter and veteran Derrick Brown should make life easier for Carolina\u2019s front seven.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Panthers\u2019 Worst Offseason Move: Re-signing S Nick Scott<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxzd9ks5v1ftmn7v0q.jpg\" alt=\"Nick Scott\" title=\"Nick Scott\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"8c\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8g\">Last offseason, Morgan upgraded the safety room by signing Tre\u2019von Moehrig away from the Las Vegas Raiders. He finished third on the team in defensive stops and helped improved the run defense. He also used a fourth-round pick on Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8j\">Scott actually started all 17 games and the playoffs for Canales\u2019s club this past season and finished second on the club with 109 defensive tackles (9 stops in the playoff loss to the Rams), but has produced very few big plays during his brief stay in Charlotte. He has a total of two takeaways in two seasons (28 games, including playoffs) since joining the Panthers in 2024. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8m\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/news\/panthers-agree-terms-with-nick-scott\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">He inked a one-year deal this offseason to return,<\/a> but it will be interesting to see how training camp unfolds\u2014especially with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/draft\/tracker\/2026\/teams\/carolina-panthers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rookie Zakee Wheatley (5b-Penn State) lurking.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rookies report on Tuesday and the veterans the following day. It\u2019s back to the practice field for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":950575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":["post-950574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-panthers","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-carolinapanthers","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-panthers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116951915563118633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950574","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=950574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/950575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=950574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=950574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=950574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}