4 teams that could sign Russell Okung in free agency
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers
Although Russell Okung won’t be offered anything like the sort of money he received from the Carolina Panthers on the final year of his deal, there is a chance the player is brought back on a much-reduced contract if both parties can come to a mutually acceptable arrangement.
There will never be a better time for the Panthers to look at a longer-term option at left tackle. But it’s evident that Greg Little has much work to do in his bid to become a prominent starter in the NFL, although that ship might have already sailed.
Carolina is reportedly considering shipping their No. 8 overall selection and plenty more in an attempt to land quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans. So getting an immediate contributor to protect the edge via the NFL Draft might be difficult in this particular scenario.
Considering they know first-hand how much Okung struggled to keep himself fit and firing on all cylinders last season, an incentivized deal is all they should be willing to offer.
Whether Okung would take it is highly questionable.
As stated previously, Okung actually did well in the games he played in. But not having any sort of dependability at an extremely important position is something that came back to haunt Carolina in 2020 and they will not want history to repeat itself during their next batch of competitive fixtures.