Panthers To Re-Sign Tre Boston
Tre Boston is staying in Carolina, and he’s finally getting the multi-year deal he’s been seeking. The Panthers are giving the safety a three-year deal worth $18MM, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Schefter notes that Boston will get a whopping $9.5MM in the first year of the contract. Boston has been a solid starting safety for a while now, but since he isn’t considered to be in the top-tier, it’s been tough for him to get a long-term commitment. Last offseason he waited until July to sign with the Panthers on a one-year, $3MM deal after he was unsatisfied with the initial offers he got.
The year before he did the same thing, waiting until July to sign with the Cardinals on a one-year, $1.5MM deal. He’s had to bet on himself, and it finally paid off. This past year he started all 16 games for the Panthers, racking up 11 passes defended and three interceptions, helping to turn around a suddenly resurgent secondary.
Boston started his career in Carolina, so it’s fitting they’re the ones who ultimately rewarded him. A fourth-round pick of the Panthers back in 2014, he spent three years with them before being waived and latching on with the Chargers. He started 15 games for the Chargers and had five interceptions, but still failed to generate much of a market.
Panthers Interested In Saints’ Vonn Bell
Vonn Bell could wind up changing teams while staying in the same division. The Panthers have shown interest in the Saints’ free agent safety, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The incumbent Saints are also hoping to keep him, she adds.
Bell, an Ohio State product, has spent his entire career with the Saints since entering the league in 2016. The former second-round pick has 61 appearances and 45 starts to his credit. Last year, he started in all 13 of his games for New Orleans and tallied 89 stops plus 1.5 sacks.
For his work, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 47 safety in the NFL. With the Saints, he’s helped contain the run, resulting in a 43-game streak without allowing any single rusher to hit 100 yards. He’s also displayed his hard-hitting ability with seven career forced fumbles.
The Saints would like to keep Bell, but they do have Chauncey Gardner-Johnson waiting in the wings. The Panthers, meanwhile, could use help in the secondary after losing James Bradberry to the Giants in free agency.
Contract Details: JPP, Cousins, Weatherly
Deals are coming in quickly, so we’ve compiled some important contract details below:
- DE Jason Pierre-Paul, Buccaneers: two years. Deal is worth $25MM, and could be worth up to $26MM ($12.5MM/season, up to $1MM in incentives). Via The Athletic’s Greg Auman on Twitter.
- DE Stephen Weatherly, Panthers: two years, $12.5MM. Deal includes $6.25MM guaranteed, $4MM signing bonus. Annual per-game active roster bonus up to $100K, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- QB Kirk Cousins, Vikings: two-year, $66MM extension. Effectively now three-year, $96MM deal. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com observes, this gives Cousins the highest AAV at his position ($32MM, bumping Russell Wilson‘s $31.4MM).
- DE Arik Armstead, 49ers: five-year, $85MM extension. Includes voidable sixth year, allowing team to lower cap number. $6MM cap number in first year, $12.5MM in second year, $20MM+ in 2022 through 2024. All via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner on Twitter.
- QB A.J. McCarron, Texans: re-signed. One-year, $4MM deal, including $3.75MM guaranteed. Via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero on Twitter.
- DE Mario Addison, Bills: three years. Worth $30.45MM, including $15.25MM guaranteed. $14MM in first year of deal. Via Pelissero on Twitter.
- QB Nate Sudfeld, Eagles: re-signed. One-year, $2MM deal, including $500K guaranteed. Another $1MM in incentives. Via Pelissero on Twitter.
- TE Blake Jarwin, Cowboys: three years, $24.25MM. Includes $4MM signing bonus. Base salaries: $2.25MM (2020), $3.5MM (2021), $4.5MM (2022), $5.5MM (2023). From 2021 through 2023, there are active roster bonuses totaling $750K and escalators maxing out at $750K per season. Via ESPN’s Todd Archer on Twitter.
Panthers To Sign Teddy Bridgewater
The Panthers are expected to sign Teddy Bridgewater when the league year officially kicks off on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Mortensen (on Twitter). The two sides are still ironing out the details, but it’ll be a three-year deal in the range of $60MM, Mort hears. 
On Tuesday morning, the Panthers announced that they have given Cam Newton permission to seek a trade. Interestingly, that news caught Newton off-guard – he accused the Panthers of “wordplay” to imply that he wanted out. Either way, Newton will be playing elsewhere in 2020 and Bridgewater will be the club’s starter moving forward.
Bridgewater, who is beloved by just about everyone in NFL circles, worked tirelessly to come back from what could have been a career-ending knee injury. Since moving on from the Vikings, he’s shown that he still has tons of talent to go along with his charisma and leadership.
Last year, he got five opportunities to start in Drew Brees‘ stead and he went undefeated. Now, heading into his age-28 season, the Panthers are hopeful that he can rekindle his early Minnesota magic.
Before the injury, Bridgewater averaged 3,075 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in his first two seasons. With the Saints, he sat for most of the 2018 season before leading the team to a 5-0 record in Brees’ absence last year. While Bridgewater ranked at or near the bottom in multiple Next Gen Stats focused on average air yards, he completed 67% of his passes in 2019.
This also represents an interesting move for a Panthers team that has been linked to a possible run at Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields in 2021. While Bridgewater will be tasked with taking over a team that has lost a lot of talent this year, he profiles as a quarterback talented enough to play Carolina out of the No. 1 or No. 2 draft slots — likely needed to secure Lawrence or Fields — next year.
Cam Newton: I “Never Asked” For Panthers To Trade Me
The Panthers have granted Cam Newton permission to seek a trade. Newton, meanwhile, says he never requested one.
“Stop with the word play! I never asked for it,” Newton wrote in an Instagram reply to the Panthers in his signature mangled text. “There is no dodging this one: I love the Panthers to death and will always love you guys! Please do not try and play me, or manipulate the narrative and act like I wanted this. You forced me into this!”
Like it or not, Newton probably won’t be left with much choice. It sounds like the Panthers are already eyeing potential replacements, as the organization has been connected to veteran Teddy Bridgewater. If the front office misses out on a quarterback in free agency, they could turn their focus to the draft, where they own the seventh-overall pick.
While injuries have derailed Newton’s production in recent years, he’s still a former MVP, and he also led the Panthers to the Super Bowl. He’s slated to make just $18.6MM this season, making him a fairly affordable bridge option for a QB-needy team.
Newton was limited to only two games in 2019, but he did make 14 starts in 2018. That season, he connected on a career-high 67.9-percent of his passes for 3,395 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. While he’s not nearly as prolific in the running game as he once was, he still managed to compile 488 rushing yards and four scores on 101 attempts.
Panthers Give Cam Newton Permission To Seek Trade
The Panthers may be moving on from Cam Newton. On Tuesday, the club announced that they have granted their star quarterback permission to seek a trade.
“One of the distinct pleasures of my career was selecting Cam with the first pick in the 2011 draft,” GM Marty Hurney said in a statement. “Every year difficult decisions are made and they are never easy. We have been working with Cam and his agent to find the best fit for him moving forward and he will always be a Carolina Panther in our hearts.”
Newton, 31 in May, captured the NFL’s MVP trophy in 2015 and led the team to the Super Bowl. He also owns just about every franchise record for QBs.
Unfortunately, injuries have taken his career in a different direction as of late. The three-time Pro Bowler has gone under the knife multiple times, including surgeries to his throwing shoulder and left foot.
Newton may have lost some of his luster, but he should still hold appeal for teams in need of QB help. He’s slated to make just $18.6MM this season, making him a fairly affordable bridge option.
Any interested clubs will want to take a close look at his aforementioned maladies. At last check, we heard that Newton could ready to throw sometime this month, though the Panthers were planning to be cautious with him and delay some of his work until later in the spring.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are showing very strong interest in quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, sources tell Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). They’ll have competition for Teddy Two-Gloves, however – the Bears have shown interest (though they seem ready to pivot towards other passers) and the Bucs also see him as a strong fallback if they’re unable to land Tom Brady.
If the Panthers don’t go for Bridgewater, or another one of this year’s high-profile free agent QBs, they could consider a passer in the first round of the draft. The Panthers own the No. 7 overall pick, putting them in good position for most of this year’s top signal callers.
Panthers Sign S Juston Burris
Juston Burris is heading to Carolina. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the free agent safety is signing a two-year, $8MM deal with the Panthers.
The former fourth-rounder has bounced around the league a bit after spending the first two-plus seasons of his career with the Jets. He was waived by the Browns at the end of the 2019 preseason, and after briefly catching on with the Raiders, he was cut again.
He re-signed with Cleveland in late September, and he proceeded to have the best season of his career in 2019. He finished the campaign having compiled 32 tackles, one sack, seven passes defended, two picks, and one forced fumble. In total, the 26-year-old has seen time in 52 career games.
DE Stephen Weatherly Signs With Panthers
Defensive end Stephen Weatherly has signed a two-year, $12.5MM deal with the Panthers, agent Blake Baratz announced on Twitter.
Weatherly had spent his entire career with the Vikings after being selected in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. The 25-year-old appeared in all 32 regular season games for Minnesota over the past two years, collecting three sacks each season. Weatherly also had a sack during the Vikings Divisional Round loss to the 49ers this past year.
It’s been a relatively quiet day in Carolina. The Panthers only other move came when they released special teams captain Colin Jones earlier this afternoon.
Panthers Release Colin Jones
The Panthers have released Colin Jones, according to Joe Person of The Athletic (on Twitter). The safety and special teams captain requested his release as he did not want to be a part of the team’s rebuilding effort. They’ve granted that request.
Jones, a nine-year pro, has spent eight seasons with the Panthers. He’s hardly missed time over that stretch, including perfect attendance in each of the last three seasons.
At the age of 32 (33 in October), Jones is eager to win. Given his track record, he shouldn’t have a hard time finding work.
Panthers Sign Kyle Allen To Extension
Kyle Allen, in all likelihood, wasn’t going anywhere. Now, it’s official. On Tuesday, the Panthers announced a one-year extension for the quarterback. 
Allen was slated to become an exclusive rights free agent, which is to say that he wasn’t truly on course for free agency. Instead of exercising their right to keep Allen for another low-cast year, the Panthers have given him a fresh contract, one that might include a small bump in compensation.
Allen, 24, started in 12 games in Cam Newton‘s stead last year. Early on, he looked sharp – the Panthers rattled off four wins in his first four starts. After that, things got bumpy, though the blame couldn’t be entirely placed on his shoulder pads. The Panthers went 1-7 in Allen’s next eight starts as they tumbled out of playoff contention. The youngster finished out the year with 17 touchdowns against 16 interceptions and seven lost fumbles, a stat reflective of their offensive line issues.
Allen, a former UDFA, is slated to hold the clipboard for Newton once again this year. The Panthers reportedly plan to stick with the former MVP as their starter, but nothing is certain at this stage of the offseason.