Panthers: Four free agent updates
By Tim Weaver
Longtime fans of the Carolina Panthers know that making splashy moves on day one of free agency is not general manager Dave Gettleman’s style.
However, the Panthers do have some business to attend to this offseason and yesterday there were a few noteworthy signings.
While teams like the Texans, Raiders and Giants were throwing huge piles of money at free agents, the Panthers stayed focused on keeping their talent in-house.
Here are the three biggest updates for Carolina in free agency so far.
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1. Re-signing fullback Mike Tolbert
The biggest news on Wednesday came in the afternoon when it was reported that the Panthers were re-signing their fan favorite fullback Mike Tolbert to a two-year, four-million deal.
The #Panthers deal with Pro Bowler FB Mike Tolbert is a 2-year deal worth a max of $4M, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016
Tolbert told Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer that he “left a little on the table” because he wanted to stay home where he belongs in Carolina.
For the first four years of his career Tolbert played for the San Diego Chargers. His best season came in 2011 when he was running behind Ryan Mathews in his prime. He turned 182 carries into 735 yards and 11 touchdowns that year and followed it up with eight more the next.
That was good enough to earn him an offer from the Panthers, and he’s been here ever since.
2016 will mark Tolbert’s ninth year in the league, so chances are that this is the last contract he’s going to sign in his NFL career.