The Carolina Panthers truly believed they were going to compete in 2023. There’s really no other way to explain the roster moves that they made, signing veterans like Adam Thielen and Miles Sanders. That didn’t work out. And a lot of folks lost their jobs over it, like GM Scott Fitterer and head coach Frank Reich. But they’ve already hired former linebacker Dan Morgan as general manager and former Tampa Bay Buccanneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as head coach – so it’s a new era now. An era where hopefully Canales gets Bryce Young back on track. Let’s take a look at the Panthers' weapons here from both an NFL fan and a fantasy football perception so we can predict what might happen going into 2024 NFL free agency.

 

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

Panthers Depth Chart for Fantasy Football

Quarterback

Bryce Young

Andy Dalton

  

Running Back

Chuba Hubbard

Miles Sanders

Raheem Blackshear

 

Wide Receiver

Adam Thielen

Mike Strachan

Ihmir Smith-Marsette

 

Wide Receiver

DJ Chark

Terrace Marshall

  

Wide Receiver

Jonathan Mingo

Laviska Shenault

  

Tight End

Hayden Hurst

Tommy Tremble

Ian Thomas

Stephen Sullivan


 

White = unrestricted free agent

Green = role is safe

Yellow = role could be in jeopardy

Red = could be released

PROJECTED 2024 SALARIES: ~$217M

ESTIMATED 2024 CAP SPACE: ~$31M


2024 NFL Free Agency Preview for Carolina Panthers

Quarterback

Bryce Young

Look, I’m not even going to speculate on the long-term outcome for this kid. He was thrown into the job as a rookie with a coaching staff that were all fired. What we do know is this - he’ll be the starting quarterback in 2024. From a real NFL and dynasty fantasy football perspective, it simply makes no sense to cut bait now until we get a second year and a second set of eyes on this guy. And, after what he just accomplished with Baker Mayfield, I'm glad that second set of eyes is Dave Canales.

Andy Dalton

It was smart of them to bring in Andy Dalton and it’s smart of them to retain him. He’s basically another quarterback coach available to help Young (albeit a quarterback coach you can bring in if Young gets hurt). That’s incredibly valuable. Dalton can probably play this game for as long as teams are willing to pay him and then he can transition to an actual QB coach role if he chooses, the same way that Davis Webb did. While teams are willing to pay you millions of dollars, you might as well remain a player as long as you can.

PANTHERS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE

Unless the new regime goes completely nuclear and decides VERY early that Bryce Young isn’t it, the Panthers don’t need to do anything at quarterback. I don’t think they should. 

Running Back

Miles Sanders

There’s only one word to describe this year for Sanders - nightmare. Early on we could blame injuries to the groin and shoulder but, even after getting healthy, he was outplayed by Chuba Hubbard. They would need to eat over $8 million in dead cap to cut him and, even as a post-June 1 cut, they’d knock $2.2 million off the books for 2024 while moving dead cap to the next year. If ANY team was willing to trade for him maybe they would do it for a 7th-round pick but the new regime is probably just going to have to see if they can salvage him.

Chuba Hubbard

Hubbard emerged as the better back which surprised a lot of people as he’s had multiple chances while CMC was injured. He’s still under contract with another year on his rookie deal so he’ll be on this team almost certainly. Betting on him in dynasty is a dicey move as we don’t know what the new regime has in mind and, even if he starts this year, he’s an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

Raheem Blackshear

They can retain Blackshear on a cheap deal as an exclusive rights free agent and, given his usage on special teams, I don’t see why they wouldn’t do that. 

PANTHERS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE

It just doesn’t seem realistic to use their limited cap space to spend up on a running back. They have a couple of guys like Mike Boone, Tarik Cohen, and Spencer Brown signed to cheap futures deals so maybe one of them makes the team or they add one more cheap guy somewhere but it’s not necessary. The draft is where they could potentially make some noise if there is a guy they love.

 

Wide Receiver

Adam Thielen

The three-year deal Adam Thielen received has enough guaranteed money that he’s locked in for 2024 as well. Next year they could move on if they want but he’s locked in for this year. The more young wide receivers they can bring in to learn from him while he is there, the better. As for Thielen himself, he showed that he still has some ball in him so he could be a cheap acquisition in dynasty leagues if you are desperate. I’d rather have him as my “next man up” for injuries and bye weeks than a staple in my lineup though.

DJ Chark

DJ Chark has gotten a lot of chances in this league (oddly, all with cat mascot teams going back to his time in college with the LSU Tigers). He couldn’t beat out Adam Thielen or Jonathan Mingo for full-time snaps so he’s probably finding a new home this offseason. 

Jonathan Mingo

As I mentioned, Mingo was a full-time player when healthy. And I mean full-time as he played 98-99% of snaps on four different occasions. The new regime is going to have to decide for themselves on Mingo but they have him for three more years on a cheap deal. If they were to somehow acquire a high-end wide receiver, they would need to decide whether Thielen or Mingo was going to be a part-time guy. In dynasty, Mingo’s youth alone makes him more appealing than Thielen. 

Terrace Marshall

Marshall is under contract for one more year after being drafted by the Matt Rhule regime. This past year he got some looks at times then at other times was a healthy scratch. If this regime doesn’t like him, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see him get a shot wherever Joe Brady is coaching, as that was his coach at LSU as well as the Panthers' OC when he was drafted. If the Panthers don’t make major moves this year, he’ll get the first crack at that WR3 chair.

Mike Strachan

Strachan is a practice squad player who was elevated. He might give Marshall a run for some WR3 snaps but the long-term upside for players like this isn’t usually promising. He can also be cut for $1 million in savings with zero dead cap so he needs to earn his roster spot. I have him stashed in one dynasty league but you don’t even want to know how deep it is. 

Ihmir Smith-Marsette

If he’s retained, it will be for his duties in the return game. But he’s currently a free agent. 

Laviska Shenault

The former dynasty darling is an unrestricted free agent. As far as I know, he has no connection to the new GM or coach so the odds he signs with the Panthers aren’t a whole lot better than him signing anywhere.

PANTHERS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE

There are some high-end names out there in free agency if the Panthers want to push the chips on a guy to play with Bryce Young. They probably should not spring for Mike Evans or Calvin Ridley at their age but there are a few guys under 27 that could make sense to pair up with him if they want to make a splash. Otherwise, they will just be filling out the roster with bodies but we’ll spare you those names here as that’s not as fun.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Michael Pittman, Tee Higgins, Marquise Brown

Tight End

Hayden Hurst

If you have not heard already, Hayden Hurst is dealing with post-traumatic amnesia after a head injury. He hopes to return to the league but we can’t really speculate on that as of now. And, unfortunately, that will have a big impact on how they handle the position moving forward. 

Tommy Tremble

Tommy Tremble is a good “move” tight end - he reminds me a bit of former Washington hybrid tight end/fullback Chris Cooley. It’s hard to imagine him ever being a high-end fantasy option but he’s a good real-life football player who blocks well and surprises you with a hurdle or end-around every once in a while. 

Ian Thomas

I was honestly surprised to see Ian Thomas get extended but he is a decent blocking tight end. He could be released with $3.7 million in saves and only $2.5 mil in dead cap so that is on the table for the new group coming in.

PANTHERS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE

Unfortunately, there isn’t much worth speculating on here until we know how things stand with Hayden Hurst. If Hurst doesn’t return, the best options in free agency are guys like Hunter Henry, Dalton Schultz, and Noah Fant. We’re hoping Hurst makes a full recovery but the draft might be their best bet if they want to add a long-term tight end.

 

NFL Free Agency Previews

Discover our other breakdowns for the rest of the league ahead of 2024 NFL free agency: