Tyler Steen Front-Runner For Eagles’ RG Job
In his first NFL training camp, 2023 third-rounder Tyler Steen was supposed to compete with 2022 second-rounder Cam Jurgens for the Eagles’ starting right guard post. But Steen, a collegiate tackle, had a difficult time adapting to the interior, and Jurgens quickly beat him out.
Ultimately, Steen appeared in just 71 offensive snaps last year, almost all of which came during his one and only start, a Week 9 victory over the Cowboys. Aside from that contest, for which both Jurgens and Sua Opeta were injured, Philadelphia typically called upon Opeta when it needed a reserve guard.
However, the Eagles allowed Opeta to depart in free agency this offseason, and a recent ESPN report confirms that Jurgens will move to center to replace retired franchise icon Jason Kelce (which was the plan when Jurgens was first drafted). That means that the RG job is again there for the taking, and the same ESPN report indicates that Steen is the front-runner.
In his admittedly small sample size of work in 2023, Steen did not receive high marks from Pro Football Focus, which assigned him a poor overall grade of 53.2 and a laughably low 21.9 pass-blocking mark (PFF also charged him with six pressures allowed). On the other hand, he held up reasonably well in the run game, and in the view of Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com, Steen — whose struggles in blocking Dallas superstar Micah Parsons are perhaps forgivable — showed enough promise to earn the pole position in the right guard race.
His top competition for the job could come in the form of free agent acquisition Matt Hennessy, whom the Eagles added on a one-year deal in March. Hennessy missed the entirety of the 2023 campaign due to a knee injury, and he appeared in just 175 snaps in 2022, all of which came as a left guard for the Falcons. However, he did acquit himself well during his LG cameo, and he was a highly-effective run blocker when working as Atlanta’s starting pivot in 2021. If nothing else, he will provide useful depth at center and the guard positions.
Day 3 rookies Trevor Keegan and Dylan McMahon could also push Steen for playing time at right guard.
Odell Beckham Jr. On WR3 Role In Dolphins’ Offense
The Dolphins were first connected to Odell Beckham Jr. shortly after the first wave of free agency had passed in March, and they struck a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the 31-year-old wideout just a few days after the 2024 draft wrapped. Although the Jets were rumored as a possible suitor for the three-time Pro Bowler this offseason, it was ultimately a one-team race for Beckham’s services.
That fact is reflected in the $3MM base value of Beckham’s contract, a full $12MM less than the $15MM in guaranteed money he received from the Ravens in the 2023 offseason (a payout that was driven by the status of the Ravens’ negotiations with QB Lamar Jackson at the time). Beckham’s Miami deal also confirms that, despite his ability to stay mostly healthy thoughout his first and only Baltimore campaign, he is now viewed throughout the league as an ancillary piece rather than an offensive focal point.
For his part, Beckham is perfectly content with that. “[A]t this place in my life and my career, I haven’t been the No. 1 (WR) in a minute,” Beckham said during his introductory press conference (via Larry Holder of The Athletic (subscription required)). “You could go look at targets, you could go look at anything, that’s not really where I’ve been at.”
While virtually any player would take a backseat to Miami’s WR tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, it is still notable that Beckham — who looked every bit a future Hall of Famer during the early stages of his pro career, and who had at least two clubs willing to pony up eight figures for him in 2023 — has made peace with his new role.
Beckham caught 35 balls for 565 yards last season, a far cry from his halcyon days with the Giants and even his first season with the Browns in 2019, which was generally considered to be a disappointment. On the other hand, his Baltimore production yielded a 16.1 yards-per-reception rate, a career-best mark that supports the execs who believe that he still possesses high-end ability.
And in South Beach, even a repeat of Beckham’s Ravens output should be more than enough to help the Dolphins’ offense continue to function at a high level. Despite the fact that Miami’s nominal No. 3 wideout, Cedrick Wilson Jr., recorded just 296 yards in 2023, the club finished first in the league in total offense and second in points scored. Wilson is no longer on the team, but Beckham and a pair of Day 3 draftees (Malik Washington and Tahj Washington) have been added to the unit.
Among the 35 receivers who garnered between 40 and 74 targets in 2023, OBJ finished 10th in terms of Expected Points Added per target and third in terms of EPA per reception, which suggests that he can indeed serve as a productive complement to Hill and Waddle.
In discussing his contentment with his current status, Beckham said, “[i]t’s amazing. It gives you a huge sense of peace. I feel like I used to carry a lot of anger or resentment or whatever it was. Now I just feel at peace. You’re able to train, you’re able to play the game that you love again. You kind of get past all the business side or whatever could be holding you back. A part of me feels like this is an opportunity for it to just be football.”
Seahawks’ GM, HC Discuss Byron Murphy Pick; Team Not Expected To Trade From DL Group
MAY 8: The Rams also made an offer for the Seahawks’ No. 16 pick, according to Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline. Los Angeles, which also attempted to trade up higher for Brock Bowers, is believed to have been targeting Murphy. The Eagles’ interest stemmed from a fear they would lose Quinyon Mitchell had they not traded up. Mitchell ended up falling to Philly at No. 22, while the Rams went with Florida State D-lineman Jared Verse at No. 19.
MAY 5: Going into this year’s draft, guard was arguably the Seahawks’ biggest need. And as ESPN’s Brady Henderson writes, Seattle had targeted Alabama’s JC Latham, who was selected by the Titans with the No. 7 overall pick (the ‘Hawks would have slid Latham, a collegiate tackle, to the interior of their O-line, at least in the early stages of his pro career).
[RELATED: Murphy Signs Rookie Deal]
A number of this year’s top defensive prospects fell lower than expected due to an unprecedented run on offensive talent. When the Seahawks were on the clock with the No. 16 pick, only one defensive player, UCLA edge defender Laiatu Latu, was off the board, and he went to the Colts at No. 15. That left Texas DT Byron Murphy II available for Seattle, whom the team saw as the best defender in the 2024 class. The ‘Hawks ultimately turned in the card for the former Longhorn.
As offensive players were flying off the board, the Seahawks — who did not have a second-round choice — were fielding trade offers that would have allowed them to move down the board and pick up additional draft capital in the process. Per Henderson, the ‘Hawks received offers from the Steelers, Eagles, Vikings, and Falcons (who were trying to trade back into the first round after surprisingly drafting QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 choice). The Packers were also interested in acquiring Seattle’s No. 16 selection, but Green Bay ultimately did not make an offer.
With Murphy still available but with Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Dre’Mont Jones, Johnathan Hankins, and several recent draftees already on the roster, GM John Schneider was tempted to trade back. However, Seattle is not in rebuild mode, and Schneider felt that Murphy was too good to pass up.
“I’d be lying to you if I said we didn’t think about [trading back],” Schneider said. “But [Murphy], he was just too good. He influences the game, like a lot. He’s got that ability to jump off the ball and get up field. He can play edges, he can play square, he can rush the passer inside, he gets up and down the line of scrimmage.”
New head coach Mike Macdonald added, “he just plays our style of football, really. And then he’s so talented. Versatility along the front, such an aggressive player, plays violently, heavy hands for a guy [of] shorter stature, flexible, pass-rush flexibility — you name it. Yeah, just really excited to have him.”
With all of the D-linemen on the roster and the Seahawks’ shortage of cap space — per OverTheCap.com, Seattle is the only team in the red as of the time of this writing — it would be fair to expect the club to deal from its DL surplus. However, Henderson said the team has no such plans, especially since Macdonald intends to rotate his players more frequently than his predecessor, Pete Carroll.
In related news, the team is expected to have outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu back for training camp, per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. Nwosu, who recorded 9.5 sacks in his first Seattle slate in 2022, suffered a pectoral strain in October and missed the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He is under contract through 2026 by virtue of the three-year, $45MM extension he signed in July.
J.J. Watt Willing To Play For Texans In 2024
Former star edge defender and current CBS Sports personality J.J. Watt hung up his cleats at the end of the 2022 campaign. While we had not heard any reports to suggest that Watt was second-guessing his decision, it sounds as if he would return to play for his original team under the right circumstances.
Watt, 35, was a first-round pick of the Texans in 2011 and, despite a few injury-marred seasons, built a Hall-of-Fame resume over his 10-year Houston run before (ostensibly) finishing his playing career via a two-year stint with the Cardinals. His first season with the Texans was also DeMeco Ryans‘ last as a linebacker with Houston (Ryans, of course, is now entering his second season as the team’s head coach).
Prior to the start of the 2023 campaign, Watt told Ryans that he would suit up for the Texans if Ryans needed him to do so (video link via Brandon Scott of Sports Radio 610). Apparently, that offer is also on the table for 2024, though this will be the last year that Watt makes himself available to his old club.
“I told DeMeco last year, I said, ‘Don’t call unless you absolutely need it, but if you ever do call, I’ll be there,'” Watt said at this charity softball game yesterday (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “And he knows not to call unless he absolutely needs it. This is the last year I’ll tell him that, because I’m not going to keep training the way I’ve been training, but he knows that if he ever truly does need it, I’ll be there for him. I don’t anticipate that happening — they’ve got a very good group.”
Indeed, Ryans and C.J. Stroud were the toast of the league in 2023, when the rookie HC and rookie QB led the Texans on a surprising run to the divisional round of the AFC playoff bracket. This offseason, Houston made a number of high-profile additions to its defensive front, including four-time Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter. Hunter and 2023 first-rounder Will Anderson should form a dynamic duo at defensive end, with players like Derek Barnett and 2023 fourth-round choice Dylan Horton in support.
As Watt said, then, it is unlikely that Ryans will need to call upon his former teammate, but Watt is still a notable ace in the hole. Watt’s comments suggest that he has kept himself in football shape, and in his last year with Arizona in 2022, he started 16 games and notched 12.5 sacks. Should Ryans require an in-season addition to his cadre of pass rushers, he could certainly do a lot worse.
Jets Notes: Wilson, OL, Odunze, Hardman
The Jets brought an end to Zach Wilson‘s disappointing New York tenure when they traded their former No. 2 overall selection for a mere pick swap on Day 3 of last month’s draft. According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Wilson’s camp was, in the run-up to the 2021 draft, deeply worried about Gang Green’s history of failure to develop young quarterbacks and how that would impact Wilson’s own career, but the BYU product was convinced he would be the player to buck that trend.
Of course, that was not the case, and Wilson will now try to resurrect his career in Denver. Per Cimini, one of the lessons that the Jets learned from the Wilson experience is that, regardless of the round in which they draft a QB in the future, they will want to give that player legitimate competition for his role and, preferably, the opportunity to learn on the sidelines (benefits that were not afforded to Wilson).
GM Joe Douglas also said prior to the 2024 draft that, “I’d love to be a quarterback factory,” referencing the 1990s Packers that selected QBs in the later rounds of a draft, developed them, and flipped them for new draft capital down the road. To that end, the Jets selected Florida State passer Jordan Travis in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. Travis sustained an ankle injury in November that prematurely ended his final collegiate season, though he is expected to be healed by the start of training camp.
Travis will be learning behind newly-signed backup Tyrod Taylor and QB1 Aaron Rodgers, whose success will drive the Jets’ fortunes in 2024. Blocking for that group of passers will be rookie OT Olu Fashanu, whom New York selected with the No. 11 overall pick of the draft. As Cimini details in a separate piece, Fashanu is not expected to start right away thanks to the recent additions of Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, but since both veterans will be on modified offseason programs, Fashanu will get plenty of reps at both left and right tackle during the spring and summer (Douglas suggested that Fashanu could even get looks on the interior, as Cimini relays).
The Jets did have the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, but they traded down one spot and selected Fashanu once Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze went off the board to the Bears, who held the No. 9 selection. That suggests that Odunze was New York’s preferred target, and though Douglas would not confirm as much, Cimini says that the Jets did try to trade up for the former Huskies pass catcher.
The club did eventually land a receiver when it nabbed Western Kentucky talent Malachi Corley in the third round. As Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network writes, some teams viewed Corley as a slot-only option, though the Jets plan to get him some reps outside the numbers as well. The club is clearly high on his ability, with Cimini reporting that Douglas started making calls about a possible trade-up to take Corley when the Packers were on the clock with the No. 45 selection. Ultimately, Douglas got his man with the No. 65 pick. Head coach Robert Saleh concedes that Corley will need to refine his route-running, but he is excited to find creative ways to use him (via Cimini).
Speaking of wide receivers, the Jets never levied tampering charges against the Chiefs for Kansas City’s pursuit of Mecole Hardman, as Cimini reported back in March. Hardman, a second-round pick of the Chiefs in 2019, signed with the Jets in the 2023 offseason. But after Rodgers was lost for the season four snaps into the 2023 opener, the Jets’ offense was in shambles, and Hardman later acknowledged during an appearance on Ryan Clark‘s The Pivot podcast that he begged Chiefs brass to “come get me” (via Cimini).
The Jets traded Hardman back to KC in October, and Douglas admitted that Hardman’s comments to Clark “resonated with us” (meaning, presumably, that the Jets may have considered tampering charges at some point).
Commanders GM Adam Peters Addresses Jayden Daniels Selection
The Commanders landed LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in last month’s draft, a pick that generated a great deal of the usual speculation and conjecture in the weeks leading up to the event. For instance, multiple sources suggested that Michigan passer J.J. McCarthy would be Washington’s selection, while others thought that UNC’s Drake Maye would be first-year GM Adam Peters‘ choice (and still others believed Peters should trade down).
In a piece detailing the Commanders’ evaluation of Daniels, which will be especially relevant to Washington fans, John Keim of ESPN.com notes that Peters did indeed have a high grade on McCarthy thanks to the former Wolverine’s efficiency, strong arm, and mobility. McCarthy ultimately slotted right behind Daniels on the Commanders’ list of QB options and ahead of Maye and Michael Penix Jr., whom the team also scouted heavily.
In 2023, Peters was with the 49ers, a club that was not in the market for a first-round passer. So he did not begin evaluating the 2024 draft class of blue chip signal-callers before he took the Washington job, but once he finally got to review Daniels’ film, he became “smitten” with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
“The way he can process, the way he can see the field, the way he goes through his reads, the way he delivers [the ball] on time,” Peters said. “He’s the best deep-ball thrower in the draft, and that’s even before we start watching him run and the way he runs he just takes your soul as a defense. You think you got him and then all of a sudden, he rips off a 40-yard run. And this is against the SEC, the best of the best.”
Prior to the interview that team brass conducted with Daniels at the scouting combine in February, Peters told a group including owner Josh Harris, head coach Dan Quinn, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, and front office consultant Bob Myers that “something has to happen [for the pick] to not be Jayden.”
As the predraft process went on, Peters’ conviction only got stronger as he realized that Daniels’ work ethic and character matched the quality of his game tape. As Keim details, Daniels had the passcode changed at an LSU facility so he could put in more work when the facility would have otherwise been locked, and he also arranged for 5 a.m. workouts with his receivers, a feat that one team source said was particularly impressive to Peters.
Peters also received glowing reviews on Daniels from respected voices back in San Francisco, including Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, one of Daniels’ close friends. Peters said that he never considered trading back in the draft and taking the Commanders out of the running for Daniels, and it sounds as if rival clubs knew he was entrenched in his position. The GM said that he received only one offer for the No. 2 pick — presumably from the Raiders, who were known to covet Daniels — but that proposal “didn’t move the needle.”
It is not yet a sure thing that Daniels will be Washington’s starting quarterback on Week 1 of the 2024 campaign, with free agent acquisition Marcus Mariota available to serve as a bridge to the Daniels era if necessary. Sooner or later, though, Daniels will take the reins, and Peters is delighted by his club’s good fortune.
“We couldn’t be happier,” he said.
Graham Barton Likely To Be Bucs’ Starting Center; Tykee Smith To Play Nickel CB
Unsurprisingly, Buccaneers rookie Graham Barton is expected to become Tampa Bay’s starting center right away, as ESPN’s Jenna Laine writes. Barton, the No. 26 overall pick in last month’s draft, will compete with Robert Hainsey for the job, but given Hainsey’s struggles at the pivot in 2023, it would be surprising if the first-year pro does not beat out his veteran counterpart. Our Ben Levine said as much when the team first turned in the card for Barton.
The Bucs won a Super Bowl with Ryan Jensen snapping to Tom Brady in 2020, and after another quality performance the following season, Jensen earned a three-year, $39MM deal with the club in March 2022. Unfortunately, he suffered a major knee injury during training camp just a few months after the ink dried on his new contract, and although he suited up for the Bucs’ lone playoff game at the end of the 2022 campaign, he never made it back onto the field. He announced his retirement back in February.
Hainsey, a 2021 third-rounder, took over at the pivot in Jensen’s stead over the 2022-23 seasons, and after a solid enough showing in 2022, he struggled mightily last year. Pro Football Focus assigned Hainsey a poor overall grade of 50.2 in 2023, which made him the fifth-worst center in the league among players with enough snaps to qualify. Laine writes that Hainsey himself was responsible for 11 sacks last season, and while PFF was more forgiving in that regard — it charged Hainsey with just four sacks — the advanced metrics site did attribute nine penalties and 27 total pressures to the Notre Dame-produced blocker.
Regardless of the numbers themselves, it is clear that Tampa Bay could do with an upgrade, and head coach Todd Bowles specifically wanted “more beef” in the interior of the O-line. Barton possesses plenty of beef, with a 6-5, 314-pound frame and the type of lower body mass that Hainsey does not have.
Barton, a Duke alum, served as the Blue Devils’ center as a freshman but operated as the team’s left tackle for the remainder of his college career. As such, his transition back to the interior of the line may not be entirely seamless, but both Bowles and GM Jason Licht are intrigued by his size, temperament, and technique.
On the other side of the ball, the Bucs see third-round rookie Tykee Smith as a nickelback, according to Laine. 2023 UDFA Christian Izien held down the fort as the club’s primary slot corner as a rookie, but his play began to slip in the middle of the season. Izien and Smith will compete for the starting nickel gig while also cross-training at safety behind starters Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead.
Eagles To Host WR John Ross
The Eagles will host wide receiver John Ross during the team’s rookie camp this week, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports. Ross signed a reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs in January 2023 before announcing his retirement in July. A few months later, he had a change of heart, as Kansas City released him from the reserve/retired list so he could resume his playing career.
Ross, who is still just 28, was selected by the Bengals with the No. 9 overall pick of the 2017 draft. His athletic gifts were too tempting for the club to pass up, as the Washington product put up a 4.22-second 40-yard dash at the 2017 scouting combine, a record that held until Xavier Worthy — who was just selected by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2024 draft — broke it this year.
Of course, Ross never had much of an opportunity to put his speed to good use at the professional level, as injuries limited him to just 27 games over his four seasons in Cincinnati. He did show occasional flashes of promise, including a 2019 campaign in which he caught 28 balls for 506 yards, good for a whopping 18.1 yards-per-reception rate. His ability to produce those numbers in just eight games showed what he could do when he was healthy, but on the flip side, the fact that he was limited to eight games that year is indicative of how hard it was for him to stay on the field.
Following a 2020 season in which he was limited to only three games thanks in part to a foot injury, Ross hit free agency. He ended up catching on with the Giants on a one-year deal, catching 11 passes in 10 games for his new squad. He did not get into a game during the 2022 season, and he eventually signed the above-referenced futures contract with the Chiefs.
Obviously, an injury-plagued player who last played in an NFL game in January 2021 is a long shot to make any roster, and the Eagles boast two of the best (and wealthiest) wideouts in the game in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Behind that duo, however, the situation is a little more unsettled. Philadelphia added Parris Campbell in free agency this offseason, but he has hardly been a model of health in his career, and he failed to carve out much of a role for a receiver-needy Giants outfit in 2023.
The Eagles also signed DeVante Parker after he was released by the Patriots in March, and they added Johnny Wilson and Ainias Smith on Day 3 of this year’s draft. So while there is plenty of competition in the club’s WR room, there does appear to be an opportunity for Ross to sneak onto the 53-man roster if he impresses the coaching staff enough to earn a contract and if he can stay healthy. At this point, those are two very big “ifs.”
Texans Host Free Agent DE Dawuane Smoot
On the eve of this year’s draft, the Texans hosted free agent defensive end Dawuane Smoot, per ESPN’s Field Yates. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, Smoot’s visit was “positive,” and the two sides left the door open to an agreement once the draft dust settled.
The Texans were aggressive in the free agent and trade markets this offeason as they attempt to capitalize on the financial freedom that having quarterback C.J. Stroud on his rookie deal affords them. That was especially evident in the club’s approach to its defensive front, as it added players like Foley Fatukasi, Denico Autry, Tim Settle, and Mario Edwards Jr. to the unit while re-signing Derek Barnett and landing one of this year’s biggest free agent fish, Danielle Hunter.
Smoot would presumably compete for reps with Barnett and 2023 fourth-rounder Dylan Horton behind starters Will Anderson and Hunter. The Texans are plenty familiar with Smoot, a longtime cog of the division-rival Jaguars, and his signing would represent a low-risk, high-reward endeavor for the overnight championship contenders.
Now 29, Smoot was selected by Jacksonville in the third round of the 2017 draft. While it took several years for him to find his footing in the professional ranks, he quietly emerged as a consistent pass rusher, collecting 22.5 sacks for the Jags between 2019 and 2022. That included a 2021 campaign in which he started a career-high 10 games and compiled 36 tackles, six sacks, and 16 QB hits.
Smoot unfortunately suffered a torn Achilles towards the end of a similarly productive 2022 season, which proved to be especially poor timing since he was finishing up the two-year, $10MM deal he signed the year before. Smoot lingered on the open market until last July, when he inked a modest one-year pact to remain with the Jaguars. He was promptly placed on the PUP list due to the Achilles injury and did not make his 2023 debut until the middle of October. In 12 games (zero starts), Smoot recorded just one sack and four QB hits.
Still, now that he is over a year removed from the Achilles tear, it is fair to expect him to recapture at least some of the form he displayed during his peak years in Duval. At the very least, he should be able to serve as a useful rotational pass rusher, and he can likely be had for another low-cost contract.
Houston did not add an edge defender until the seventh round of the 2024 draft, when it selected USC product Solomon Byrd. As such, it seems that nothing that transpired this weekend would preclude the Texans from circling back to Smoot.
Panthers To Retain RB Miles Sanders, Likely To Sign CB Stephon Gilmore
The Panthers made Jonathon Brooks the first running back off the board in this weekend’s draft, trading two fifth-round picks to move up six spots in the second round to select the former Texas standout. However, the Brooks pick does not impact RB Miles Sanders‘ standing with the team.
As first-year GM Dan Morgan said, “we love Miles. We see a big role for him. He can do a lot for our offense. He’s versatile in the pass game and he’s a really good runner. So we’re excited about him, as well” (via Joseph Person of The Athletic (subscription required)).
New head coach Dave Canales added, “all these guys (Brooks, Sanders, and Chuba Hubbard) are going to play. Look at the history of league. Every team I’ve been on, we used all of our running backs at different points because it’s such a violent position.”
Sanders, who will turn 27 this week, slogged through a miserable 2023, his first year in Charlotte after he parlayed a strong tenure with the Eagles into a four-year, $25MM contract with the Panthers last March (he was the only RB to secure a contract over three years in length last offseason, and his $6.25MM AAV was tops among all running backs who received more than a one-year term). His signing was championed by former HC Frank Reich and assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley, but when Reich and Staley were fired in November, Sanders’ role diminished.
In 16 games last season, the 2022 Pro Bowler handled 129 carries for 432 yards, which amounted to a poor 3.3 yards-per-carry average. He did catch 27 passes for 154 yards, but he scored just one total touchdown. In fairness, the Panthers’ offense as a whole was an unmitigated disaster in 2023, finishing last in the league in both yards and points, and it stands to reason that the team would want to give a talented back another look in a Canales-led unit that has no place to go but up. Plus, while Carolina would actually realize some cap savings by trading Sanders, he likely has no trade value at this point given his poor showing last season and the fact that he still has three years left on his deal, with base salaries ranging between $4.02MM and $5.5MM.
On the defensive side of the ball, we heard earlier this month that Morgan was giving thought to signing cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who played for the Panthers in 2021. Morgan indicated at the time that he would revisit the matter after the draft was over.
Over the past three days, Morgan made just one CB addition, selecting Washington State defender Chau Smith-Wade in the fifth-round. As Person opines, Smith-Wade’s diminutive stature will likely force him into a slot role at the professional level, and since Donte Jackson and C.J. Henderson are no longer in the mix, the Panthers still have a need for a boundary corner to join Jaycee Horn and free agent addition Dane Jackson.
In Person’s view, it is an inevitability that the Panthers will sign Gilmore.