JULY 25: Kemoko Turay is joining Haynes at today’s workout, The Athletic’s Joe Person tweets. Failing to make the Falcons’ 53-man roster last year, Turay spent most of the season out of football. The former Colts second-rounder has not panned out, but he did total 5.5 sacks as a rotational cog in 2021. The Panthers now have Ngakoue and Lawson set to audition Friday.
JULY 24, 5:09pm: Marquis Haynes, a pass rusher who has been a Panther throughout his six-year career, will be part of Thursday’s workout group as well, Kaye adds. Added under Ron Rivera, Haynes has played for six HCs. Though, the Panthers have some continuity on defense, at least, with Ejiro Evero coming back for a second season as DC. After a five-sack 2022, Haynes missed much of last season due to a back injury.
10:09am: The Brian Burns trade led to a Panthers reboot on the edge. For now, the team is taking a veteran-heavy approach at the position. Jadeveon Clowney, D.J. Wonnum and K’Lavon Chaisson are in place as Carolina’s most notable outside linebackers. The team is still looking for similar help here.
After not drafting an edge player, the Panthers placed Wonnum on their active/PUP list to start training camp. With Chaisson underwhelming in Jacksonville, plenty could be on Clowney’s shoulders. The former No. 1 overall pick might have some help soon, as the Charlotte Observer’s Mike Kaye reports Yannick Ngakoue‘s workout tour will stop through Charlotte. The Panthers are also preparing to audition Carl Lawson this week. Ngakoue’s workout will take place Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
Previously eyeing a deal before training camp, Ngakoue worked out for the Dolphins this week. Emmanuel Ogbah‘s familiarity won out, and the nomadic edge rusher remains in search of a deal. With Wonnum rehabbing a torn quad suffered in Week 16 — an injury that was expected to cost him camp time — and Chaisson producing a grand total of five sacks in four Jaguars seasons, the Panthers appear to remain in need of help. Clowney has reached notable peaks throughout his career, but the injury-prone pass rusher has been unable to sustain success since leaving Houston in 2019.
This would open the door for Ngakoue, who is still just 29 despite going into his ninth NFL season. The former third-round pick’s run of sack production stalled in Chicago last year, as his seven-year streak of eight-plus-sack seasons — a string no active NFLer matched from 2016-22 — halted after a four-sack slate last season. Ngakoue suffered a broken ankle last December, though he did start 13 Bears games prior to that injury. Ngakoue’s 10 sacks alongside Maxx Crosby in 2021 helped the Raiders to the playoffs, and he led the 2022 Colts with 9.5. Viewed as a liability against the run, Ngakoue has cycled through six teams over the course of his career — including five during the 2020s.
Lawson, 29, has not landed in offseason rumors the way Ngakoue has. The recent Jets contributor did visit the Dolphins in April, however, and has been productive in the not-so-distant past. He totaled seven sacks and 24 QB hits with the Jets in 2022, helping Robert Saleh‘s defense rebound after a woeful 2021. Lawson’s training camp injury contributed to New York’s last-place rankings that season, but he found himself out of the Jets’ D-line rotation last year after accepting an offseason pay cut. Lawson, whom the Jets tried to trade, did not record a sack in 2023.
It would make sense for the Panthers to add some help here. Their $6MM in cap space sits 29th in the league, and Ngakoue likely will not be available for the veteran minimum. Despite having agreed to a three-year, $45MM Jets deal in 2021, Lawson would stand to come cheaper.
