Panthers Eyeing Ikem Ekwonu, Charles Cross
Scott Fitterer identified a pivotal quarterback-or-left tackle decision with the Panthers’ first-round pick (No. 6 overall). With Carolina lacking second- or third-round choices, its first-round decision looms rather large.
The Panthers have identified tackles Ikem Ekwonu and Charles Cross as prime candidates for the sixth pick, Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com notes. Ekwonu might not be there at 6; Cross has a better shot at remaining on the board by the time Carolina’s selection surfaces. If the Panthers take the tackle that remains on the board, it will likely mean three tackles go in the top six while also amplifying Carolina’s quarterback need.
This is prime smokescreen season, and the Panthers passing on a quarterback there leaves a potentially bleak reality for a team with a coach on the hot seat. Carolina is doing extensive quarterback prep, with six QBs — Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, Matt Corral, Desmond Ridder, Sam Howell and Bailey Zappe — being included in the team’s 30 allotted prospect visits.
The Panthers cannot be viewed as being out on QBs, though Pauline writes the team’s top two preferences are Cross (Mississippi State) and Ekwonu (NC State). If Ekwonu goes in the top five, as expected, Pauline adds the expectation around the league is the Panthers selecting Cross at 6. The Giants, who hold the No. 5 overall pick, are doing considerable homework on Cross. Ekwonu grades as Scouts Inc.’s No. 2 overall prospect; Cross sits 15th. The Giants were eyeing DeVonta Smith in last year’s first round but saw the Eagles leapfrog them for the 2020 Heisman winner. This Carolina Cross interest could induce New York, which has a glaring need at right tackle, to use the first of its two top-10 picks on a lineman.
Carolina has needed a left tackle for ages, deploying different primary blockers at this spot since Jordan Gross‘ 2014 retirement. The team’s 2021 solution, journeyman Cameron Erving, remains under contract. But Fitterer indicated left tackle is firmly under consideration in Round 1, noting the left tackles out-grade this class’ top quarterbacks.
Panthers To Meet With Kenny Pickett, Four Other Quarterbacks
The Panthers will use next week to gather intel on the top quarterbacks from this draft class. In addition to their Malik Willis meeting, the Panthers will visit with Kenny Pickett and use four of their other top-30 prospect visits on QBs.
Pickett will join Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Sam Howell (North Carolina), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati) and Bailey Zappe (Western Kentucky) on “30” visits, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. These meetings will take place between Monday and Wednesday of next week in Charlotte.
Missing out on Deshaun Watson, Carolina has veteran options still. But the team has not expressed interest in Jimmy Garoppolo and is not believed to want Baker Mayfield. The team’s interest for a veteran could change, but Sam Darnold is under contract on an $18.9MM fifth-year option. An additional veteran would create an expensive QB room, and second-year GM Scott Fitterer discussed the benefits of having a rookie-deal quarterback on the payroll recently.
While Pickett — a former Matt Rhule Temple recruit who decommitted after Rhule’s Baylor departure — would require Carolina’s first-round pick, the rest of this crop is not on the top-10 radar. But the Panthers traded away their second- and third-round picks last year — in deals for Darnold and C.J. Henderson. This limits the team’s options, barring a trade-down effort in Round 1. As for the prospect of Pickett at No. 6, the Panthers were linked to the Pittsburgh passer after the Senior Bowl.
Scouts Inc. ranks Corral and Ridder as the Nos. 34 and 36 overall prospects, respectively, while slotting Howell 50th. Zappe, who played in a pass-crazed system in his only Division I season and broke Joe Burrow‘s touchdown pass record by compiling 62 for the Hilltoppers, profiles as a Day 3 prospect, ranking 139th.
Malik Willis To Visit Panthers, Falcons
Throughout the pre-draft process, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis has established himself as one of, if not the most coveted prospects amongst this year’s class of signal-callers. As the build-up to the draft now shifts towards team meetings, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (on Twitter) that Willis will meet with the Panthers and Falcons next week. 
Those two teams have long been involved in speculation with respect to drafting a QB this April. Carolina has Sam Darnold under contract for one more season since they picked up his fifth-year option, but general manager Scott Fitterer spoke recently about the possibility of drafting his replacement with the sixth overall pick.
“This will be interesting because the tackles will be the best players on the board. But we do need a quarterback, and at some point you have to take a shot, especially in the top 10” he said, adding that the decision to take a quarterback is complicated by the fact that this year’s class lacks a clear-cut top option.
The Falcons, a fellow runner-up to land Deshaun Watson, have questions of their own at the position. After trading away Matt Ryan, they signed Marcus Mariota to a two-year contract. The former Titan and Raider is in line to start for the first time since 2019, but he would likely provide a short-term solution at the position at best. That has made Atlanta – who holds the eighth overall pick – a prime candidate to draft their next franchise QB in April.
Schefter notes that Willis has already met with a number of other teams, including the Steelers, Saints, Giants and Titans. Given their respective current QB status and position in the draft, each of those clubs would likely have at least some interest in adding Willis as well. Overall, his will be one of the most important names to watch as the draft draws nearer.
Panthers Sign CB Chris Westry
The Panthers have made another move to add to their secondary. The team announced on Monday that they have signed cornerback Chris Westry.
[RELATED: Panthers Re-Sign CB Melvin]
Westry, 24, originally joined the Cowboys as a UDFA. Spending most of his two seasons there on the practice squad, he appeared in only two games in Dallas. Last offseason, he was signed by the Ravens; his performance in training camp in particular earned him a spot on the 53-man roster, with plenty of optimism he could establish himself as at least an effective role player.
Not long after the season started, though, Westry suffered a torn meniscus and was placed on IR. Despite the injury, he still appeared in six games in 2021, including two starts. With a number of other injuries throughout the Ravens’ CB room, the Kentucky alum played 45% of the team’s defensive snaps, totalling 17 tackles and three pass deflections.
Westry was non-tendered by the Ravens, as they begin the process of re-shaping their CB depth chart behind starters Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. In Carolina, he will join a team that has retained the likes of Donte Jackson and Rashaan Melvin at the position. Given his age and length, he will have the opportunity to compete for a rotational role in 2022.
Panthers WR Shi Smith Arrested
Panthers WR Shi Smith was arrested in South Carolina at the end of March and charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, unlawful carrying of a handgun, and speeding, as Joshua Kuhn of WSPA.com reported.
The current collective bargaining agreement is not nearly as harsh as its predecessor with respect to marijuana usage, though if the intent to distribute charge is substantiated, that would obviously be a very different story. The unlawful carrying of a handgun could also lead to league discipline.
Smith, 23, was selected by Carolina in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. Like many Day 3 choices, his rookie-year contributions were fairly limited, as he appeared in just 85 offensive snaps and 24 special teams snaps. In six games, Smith caught six passes for 104 yards, including a 63-yard reception. Assuming the Panthers elect to retain him, he may be hard-pressed to see more action in 2022, as the club is already rostering D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, and 2021 second-rounder Terrace Marshall, and recently added Rashard Higgins in free agency.
As David Newton of ESPN.com writes, Smith was released on a total of $6K bond ($5K for the drug charge and $1K for the gun charge). His first court appearance is set for June 13, the second day of the Panthers’ mandatory four-day minicamp.
A team spokesperson declined to comment on the situation since it is a pending legal matter.
Panthers Keeping Christian McCaffrey At RB
When healthy, Christian McCaffrey has proven himself to be one of the most productive players in the league. Staying on the field has been an issue during the past two seasons, though, leading some to think that he would be better suited to line up as a slot receiver more frequently. McCaffrey himself has rebuffed such suggestions; head coach Matt Rhule recently did the same. 
[RELATED: Panthers Rework McCaffrey’s Contract]
As detailed by ESPN’s David Newton, Rhule confirmed that the team plans to keep the 25-year-old in his familiar running back spot, in spite of the workload he has shouldered and the injuries he has dealt with in recent years. McCaffrey has received 1,138 touches in his five seasons in the NFL – an average of 228 per season. With a full season in 2020 and 2021, those figures would have been significantly higher.
“We can always move him around and utilize him, but at the end of the day, he’s a back”, Rhule said. “You can do a lot of things with Christian, but to take him out of the backfield, to me, is taking him out of what he does best. We’ll keep him at tailback.”
The Panthers leaned heavily on rookie Chuba Hubbard in McCaffrey’s absence last season, and signed former Titan D’Onta Foreman in free agency. If healthy, though, the former All-Pro will of course take over as the starter again. Newton notes that new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo could use more two-RB formations, lending itself to McCaffrey being put in motion and/or the slot – something which he has very rarely done, despite his abilities as a pass-catcher.
Regardless of McAdoo’s scheme, or whom the Panthers’ QB will be in 2022, the team will carry on with the focal point of their offense in essentially the same way as they have for the rest of his career to date.
Panthers Down To QB-Or-Left Tackle Decision In Round 1?
Missing out on Deshaun Watson, the Panthers feature a glaring quarterback need. They have been connected to using the No. 6 overall pick on a passer, but it may well come down to a grade-vs.-need situation.
ESPN’s Scouts Inc. has no quarterback graded inside the top 20 this year, slotting Malik Willis 21st and Kenny Pickett 22nd. The Panthers have been connected to both players, and teams regularly reach for QBs due to positional value. Scott Fitterer confirmed the Panthers will likely have higher-rated players on their board by No. 6, among them could well be a candidate to fill the team’s perennial left tackle need.
“This will be interesting because the tackles will be the best players on the board. But we do need a quarterback, and at some point you have to take a shot, especially in the top 10,” Fitterer said, via Panthers.com’s Darin Gantt. “You hate to force it, because when you force it, you could make a mistake.
“It’s a unique quarterback class, because there’s not a clear number one, number two, number three. Like, who’s the proven starter who can come in and play for you? That’ll be the conversation we have for the next month — quarterback or left tackle.”
Carolina features dire needs at both spots, and this draft’s third-highest-graded tackle (Mississippi State’s Charles Cross) checks in at No. 15 overall, per Scouts Inc. If tackles Evan Neal and Ikem Ekwonu are off the board by the Panthers’ No. 6 pick, as both top-five candidates could be, that would seemingly make for an easier decision. Fitterer and Matt Rhule attended both Willis and Pickett’s pro days last week. Pickett originally committed to join Rhule at Temple but backed out after the current Panthers HC took the Baylor job.
The Panthers also traded their second- and third-round picks; following Carolina’s No. 6 overall choice, the team does not pick again until No. 137. Fitterer, who worked under trade-down aficionado John Schneider in Seattle, said the Panthers “would love” to trade back. But the team’s needs may take precedence. The Panthers added two starting O-linemen in free agency — inside blockers Austin Corbett and Bradley Bozeman — but have not enjoyed left tackle continuity in many years. Going into his fifth-year option season, Sam Darnold remains Carolina’s top QB.
“I think with the economics of the [quarterback] position, though, going with the rookie is the good way to go,” Fitterer said, via Joe Person of The Athletic (subscription required). “Drafting and developing. And if you miss on this one, take another one next year. Take another one the year after till you get one. Just keep swinging till you get one.”
Only one team in the past 40 years has taken QBs in back-to-back first rounds; the Cardinals chose Josh Rosen and Kyler Murray in 2018 and ’19. They traded Rosen a day after drafting Murray. Rhule, who will enter the season on the hot seat, likely will not have the luxury of missing on a first-round quarterback. Veterans remain available, but the Panthers are not believed to be interested in Baker Mayfield and have not been closely connected to Jimmy Garoppolo.
Haslam: Browns GM Proposed Fully Guaranteed Deshaun Watson Deal
The Browns’ decision to make a major quarterback upgrade has generated multifront pushback, given Deshaun Watson‘s off-field trouble and the contract structure’s effect on other teams’ future QB negotiations. The fully guaranteed $230MM did not surface until late in the process.
Watson initially rejected the Browns, and Jimmy Haslam said third-year GM Andrew Berry approached him with a radical idea to put the team back in the mix for the Pro Bowl passer. Berry pitched the idea of a fully guaranteed contract to move the needle, Haslam said. The result: a five-year deal that saw the Browns break the NFL’s record for fully guaranteed money authorized by $80MM.
“I don’t how much Andrew knew,” Haslam said of other teams’ contract offers, via the Akron Beacon Journal’s Nate Ulrich. “First of all, I don’t know what’s accurate. [Berry] just said, ‘Would we consider fully guaranteeing it?’ OK. What’s that mean? When’s the money due? Do you do four versus five [years]. Can we make this work? And he got us comfortable with that.”
Although four teams were finalists for Watson, it appears just one was willing to go to this extreme place. Watson refusing to waive his no-trade clause for the Browns may well have centered on Cleveland’s weather compared to the three NFC South cities in this mix. Browns co-owner Dee Haslam said Wednesday she believed this was the case. While Berry’s fully guaranteed pitch is quite the step to convince a quarterback to play in northeast Ohio, Watson had three other teams pursuing him.
The Falcons were on the verge of landing the Atlanta-area native, appearing to finish second ahead of the Saints and Panthers in this unusual pursuit. The Panthers were not comfortable guaranteeing the final two years of Watson’s contract, Ulrich adds, and Arthur Blank did not make it sound like the Falcons were prepared to authorize this landmark guarantee, either. Blank said the Falcons were only doing due diligence when they met with Watson, though the team being later reported as on the verge of landing him would contradict the owner’s view of his team’s interest.
“You have to leave that to Jimmy and Dee Haslam, to make their own judgment,” Blank said, via USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. “The fact it’s $80MM above the highest contract ever given, guaranteed, in the history of the league, 102 years old, says a lot. Whether most teams in the NFL or any other team in the NFL would have committed to that contract, I don’t know. That certainly is a huge commitment.”
It is interesting contract matters played into these talks, considering Watson had only played one season on the $39MM-per-year deal he signed with the Texans in 2020. Technically, Watson was tied to that contract for two years, since Houston deactivated him throughout the 2021 season. But that Texans deal ran through 2025. Watson having a no-trade clause gave him considerable power, and the bidding war led to the Browns making an offer he could not refuse.
Cam Newton Drawing Interest In Free Agency
After all the movement that has gone on with regards to quarterbacks this offseason, most teams are set at the position. That has left a few notable names in a complicated situation, such as Jimmy Garoppolo and Baker Mayfield. Another one who has mostly gone unmentioned over the past few weeks is Cam Newton. 
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Newton is “drawing interest” as a free agent (Twitter link). Not surprisingly, though, he adds that the 32-year-old is “remaining patient” given the near (if not total) lack of available starting roles at this time.
“I have teams that are interested in signing me” Newton texted to Schefter. “I am waiting on the best fit as it pertains to winning a championship and getting a fair chance to play.” Newton rejoined the Panthers midway through the 2021 season after his one-year stint in New England. He lost all five of his starts in Sam Darnold‘s absence, completing less than 55% of his passes.
Schefter’s colleague David Newton adds that the Panthers would be willing to extend the former MVP’s second stint in Carolina. As general manager Scott Fitterer said, “the door is open” for Newton, though he stressed the team remains committed to Darnold at the top of the depth chart. In nine seasons in Charlotte from 2011 to 2019, Newton earned two Pro Bowls and led the team to a Super Bowl after a 15-1 campaign in 2015. His production has tailed off considerably since then, however.
As the QB market cools down, Newton’s list of potential suitors would, presumably, shrink with each passing move. If he has generated interest from multiple teams, though, he could find his next NFL home in the near future.
Panthers’ Plans At Quarterback
After losing out on the Deshaun Watson-sweepstakes, the Panthers have maintained that they still intend to add another quarterback to the roster, according to Nick Shook of NFL.com. In a press conference covered by Shook and Joseph Person of The Athletic, general manager Scott Fitterer laid out the team’s plans moving forward.
Answering the obvious question, quarterbacks Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker are still under contract and will be afforded every opportunity to earn the starting job moving forward. The issue there lies in the fact that they’ve already been given such an opportunity and the question of future quarterback is still being asked as a result. Fitterer did inform reporters that head coach Matt Rhule had talked with a free agent signing from last year, Cam Newton. On the matter, Fitterer said, “The thing with Cam, it’s gotta be a fit for us and it’s gotta be a fit for him, just as well. He’s looking for a certain opportunity. The door’s still open for us.”
The free agent quarterback market really cleared out after Watson’s trade to Cleveland. There are still some NFL-experienced options in the trade market, though. As of now, Fitterer asserts that they haven’t heard from San Francisco or Cleveland about Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield. Since phones tend to have the ability to both send AND receive calls, it stands to reason that the Panthers not reaching out to initiate conversations over the available quarterbacks is a reflection of their level of interest. Still, Fitterer claims that they are open to receiving calls from the 49ers or Browns. They do have the luxury of waiting, possibly even until after the Draft, as there doesn’t seem to be any urgent interest in Garoppolo or Mayfield.
The most likely path, and the one most desired by Fitterer, is through the 2022 NFL Draft. Rhule and Fitterer were in attendance for Kenny Pickett’s pro day workout at Pitt and Malik Willis’ workout at Liberty. Rhule went to Mississippi’s pro day to watch Matt Corral. The only reason they didn’t go the Cincinnati to watch Desmond Ridder is because they already worked extensively with the Bearcat quarterback at the Senior Bowl and Combine. They still sent a scout and two personnel executives, though.
Suffice it to say that the Panthers have made it extremely clear that they are taking a good look at this year’s quarterback class. With the sixth pick in the first round of the Draft, Carolina could very likely take a quarterback and very well may the first team to do so, giving them their pick of the litter.
Fitterer preached a philosophy of building a team around a young quarterback on a reasonably low contract, like the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson during Fitterer’s tenure in Seattle. The only issue with this philosophy is that Rhule’s seat is getting hotter with each loss. He may not feel he has the leash to develop a young quarterback surrounded by veterans. If Rhule feels like he’s in a win-now scenario, he may push for the team to trade for one of the more proven assets like Garoppolo or Mayfield.
The route that ends up getting taken in Carolina will likely say a lot about the alignment of Rhule and Fitterer, who arrived one year after the head coach. If the team makes a move to trade for a league veteran, Fitterer likely wants to give Rhule the tools to keep his job. If the teams sits pat and waits until the Draft to address the position, it could be assumed that Fitterer is willing to let Rhule test his luck in order to build a team around his own philosophy.