Panthers Re-Sign G Amini Silatolu
The Panthers have re-signed guard Amini Silatolu to a one-year deal, the club announced today.
Silatolu, 29, has spent his entire playing career with the Panthers (his two-month stay with the Bears in 2016 never actually resulted in any playing time). A former second-round pick, Silatolu started 15 games during his rookie campaign in 2012, but has started just 16 contests since that time. Last season, Silatolua appeared in 14 games and made three starts for Carolina, playing on roughly a quarter of the club’s offensive snaps and 18% of the Panthers’ special teams snaps.
Carolina has now assembled a mix of players who could conceivably take over at left guard for the departed Andrew Norwell, with Silatolu, Taylor Moton, Jeremiah Sirles, and Tyler Larsen among them. Of that group, however, Silatolu is probably the most likely to enter the upcoming season as a clear reserve.
Panthers Re-Sign CB Ladarius Gunter
The Panthers have re-signed cornerback Ladarius Gunter to a one-year deal, the club announced today. Gunter can earn up to $1.4MM including incentives, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Carolina claimed Gunter off waivers from the Packers last September, but opted not to tender him as a restricted free agent earlier this month. The Panthers always had interest in a reunion with Gunter after free agent signing Bashaud Breeland‘s failed physical led to a voided contract, but the club re-signed him at a price cheaper than the $1.907MM original round tender.
The Panthers were able to secure Gunter at a low-cost rate because the 25-year-old simply doesn’t come with enough of an NFL track record to warrant a more serious investment. In two of Gunter’s three NFL campaigns (2015 and 2017), he played a combined total of 10 defensive snaps. During his lone year as a starter in 2016, Gunter graded as one of the worst cornerbacks in the league while starting 15 games for Green Bay, per Pro Football Focus.
Gunter is the third defensive back signed by the Panthers in the past week, joining fellow corner Ross Cockrell and safety Da’Norris Searcy. He joins a cornerback depth chart that includes James Bradberry, Captain Munnerlyn, Kevon Seymour, and Cockrell, among others, but is without Daryl Worley (trade) and Teddy Williams (free agency).
Panthers To Exercise Shaq Thompson’s 2019 Option
The Panthers intend to exercise their 2019 fifth-year option for LB Shaq Thompson, reports Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. While Carolina hasn’t officially picked up Thompson’s option, it will do so before the May 3 deadline.
While the price tag for Thompson’s fifth-year option hasn’t yet been made public, it will be the average of the third through 25th salaries at linebacker. In 2018, that value will be $8.718MM, so Thompson is likely looking a salary north of $9MM for 2019. While Thomas Davis plans to retire following the upcoming campaign, the Panthers will still have Luke Kuechly under contract, so they’ll be heavily invested at linebacker.
Thompson, 23, has seen his playtime increase in each of his three NFL seasons. Last year, Thompson saw action on 64% of Carolina’s defensive snaps, racking up 37 tackles, two sacks, one pass defensed, and one forced fumble during that time. While he missed two games with a foot injury, Thompson graded as the league’s No. 30 linebacker among 87 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
Panthers To Sign Da’Norris Searcy
The Panthers are have signed free agent safety Da’Norris Searcy to a two-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The pact is worth $5.7MM, and Searcy can earn as much as $3.1MM in 2017.
Carolina is on the lookout for defensive back help after releasing veteran Kurt Coleman earlier this month. Coleman played on nearly three-quarters of the Panthers’ defensive snaps in 2017, second only to fellow starter Mike Adams. At present, Colin Jones — who has spent most of his career as a special-teamer — is projected to start alongside Adams, but Searcy will give Carolina another option.
Searcy, 29, inked a four-year deal with the Titans in 2015 and began his tenure with the club as a full-time starter. Tennessee moved to a safety rotation in subsequent seasons, however, and Searcy saw only 33% playtime in 2017. A former fourth-round pick, Searcy managed 12 tackles and one interception last year while grading as the NFL’s No. 61 safety among 87 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
The free agent safety market has been extremely slow-moving this offseason, and even with Searcy off the board, a number of high-quality defensive backs remain available. Tre Boston, Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, Tyvon Branch, Ron Parker, and Reggie Nelson are among the safeties who have yet to land new contracts.
[RELATED: Panthers Depth Chart]
Panthers To Sign CB Ross Cockrell
The Panthers have signed cornerback Ross Cockrell to a two-year, $6.8MM contract, according to his agents at Reign Sports Management (Twitter link).
Cockrell, 26, was sent to the Giants in a September 2017 trade that netted the Steelers a conditional seventh-round draft pick. A former fourth-round pick, Cockrell went on to start nine games for Big Blue, collecting three interceptions and grading as the NFL’s No. 39 cornerback among 120 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
As I noted when evaluating the NFL’s best defensive free agents, Cockrell stood out as a potential bargain option. In 2017, Cockrell finished first in Football Outsiders’ success rate, which measures cornerbacks on their ability to consistently stop opposing wideouts short of the sticks. In fact, Cockrell was one of only eight defenders who stopped a receiver short of a successful gain on over half their tackles a season ago, as FO’s Aaron Schatz recently tweeted, but the league has consistently undervalued him and his skill-set.
Cockrell will now join a Panthers secondary that also includes corners James Bradberry, Captain Munnerlyn, and Kevon Seymour, among others. Carolina reached an agreement with free agent Bashaud Breeland last week only to void the deal following a failed physical, while Daryl Worley (trade), Teddy Williams (free agency), and Ladarius Gunter (non-tendered) are also missing from the Panthers’ defensive backfield.
[RELATED: Panthers Depth Chart]
Panthers Sign OL Jeremiah Sirles
The Panthers have signed free agent offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles to a one-year deal, the club announced today.
Sirles, 26, hit the open market last week when the Vikings opted not to tender him as a restricted free agent. Capable of playing both tackle and guard, Sirles started 14 games from 2016-17 in Minnesota. Last year, Sirles played on 366 offensive snaps and graded as the NFL’s No. 48 tackle among 81 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
In Carolina, Sirles will likely compete for time at left guard, a position vacated last week by Andrew Norwell, who inked a massive five-year deal with the Jaguars. Along with Sirles, Tyler Larsen and 2017 second-round pick Taylor Moton could be in line for playing time on the left side of the Panthers’ offensive line.
Latest On Panthers' Sale
The Panthers are for sale, and the price has reportedly risen to more than $2.5 billion, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg. For reference, the last NFL team to change hands — the Bills — reportedly went for $1.1 billion. The excessive price tag has caused at least one potential bidder, sports apparel mogul Michael Rubin, to drop out of the running, per Soshnick. However, a new suitor has emerged, as Alan Kestenbaum, CEO of private equity firm Bedrock Industries, has expressed interest in the Panther franchise, per Rick Rothacker and Katherine Peralta of the Charlotte Observer.
13 Teams Watched Johnny Manziel At USD Pro Day
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel threw passes at Thursday’s University of San Diego pro day, and 14 NFL clubs were on hand to watch him perform, reports Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Bears, Browns, Chargers, Giants, Chiefs, Jets, Patriots, Raiders, Titans, Lions, Jaguars, Panthers and Buccaneers, were all present at today’s workout, per Williams. Of course, those clubs weren’t necessarily in town just to see Manziel, as USD had its own prospects on the field.
Manziel was thought to be interested in working out a deal to play in the Canadian Football League during the 2018 campaign, and was in fact offered a contract by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in January. However, Manziel and his team reportedly weren’t pleased with the terms of the pact, and he’s now scheduled to play in the upcoming Spring League. The former first-round pick is reportedly amenable to a minimum salary or a practice squad slot.
Manziel is still only 25 years old, but he hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2015 campaign. In eight career starts for the Browns, the former Heisman trophy winner completed 57% of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
49ers Meet With CB Ladarius Gunter
The 49ers met with Panthers free agent cornerback Ladarius Gunter on Thursday, GM John Lynch said (Twitter link via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). The Panthers did not extend a restricted free agent tender to Gunter earlier this month, but they are said to have interest in a reunion at a lesser rate.
Gunter, 26 in May, had the most defensive snaps of any Packers cornerback in 2016. Last September, the Panthers picked him up after he slid down Green Bay’s depth chart and was released after just one game. His playing time didn’t improve much from there – he appeared in just four games for Carolina last year and did not record an official statistic.
After signing running back Jerick McKinnon, center Weston Richburg, and cornerback Richard Sherman, the 49ers have stayed relatively quiet in free agency. Their most recent move of note was signing guard Jonathan Cooper to a one-year deal.
Saints, Falcons, Panthers Interested In DE Robert Ayers
Instead of taking multiple free agent visits, former Buccaneers defensive end Robert Ayers plans to meet with teams at the NFL’s annual meeting in Orlando, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), who reports the Saints, Falcons, and Panthers all have interest in Ayers.
New Orleans, Atlanta, and Carolina, of course, all reside in the NFC South, meaning each club was able to see Ayers’ production from a close vantage point over the past two years as he played for Tampa Bay. The Saints, for their part, have addressed their pass rush by re-signing defensive end Alex Okafor, while the Panthers upgraded their interior by inking Dontari Poe. The Falcons haven’t yet added any new players on the edge, but they have met with free agent Pernell McPhee.
Ayers is now entering his age-32 campaign, but he’s still an outstanding pass rusher. While Ayers posted only two sacks a season ago, he managed 28 pressures (a better indication of production) and graded as Pro Football Focus‘ No. 10 edge defender. Ayers also offers experience in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, although injuries will be a question mark, as he’s only played in 10 games in each of the past two seasons.
After being cut by the Buccaneers earlier this week, Ayers is now part of a free agent edge class that also includes McPhee, Connor Barwin, Junior Galette, Derrick Shelby, and Kony Ealy, among others.