Potential suitors for 5 ex-Panthers players still available in free agency

What are some potential destinations for former Carolina Panthers players still looking for a home on the free-agent market?

There are still plenty of players once associated with the Carolina Panthers who are still available on the free-agent market. The organization hasn’t done much as yet to tie down most of last season’s squad who are out of contract, which indicates another busy offseason of personnel turnover in year No. 2 of Matt Rhule’s rebuild.

This might be the best thing where the Panthers are concerned. They are making a clear intent to get more athletic on both sides of the ball, with only offensive guard John Miller getting a new deal since the free-agent frenzy began last week.

Carolina Panthers GM has made a good start to free agency.

General manager Scott Fitterer has made an impressive start to his first year making the big calls after arriving from the Seattle Seahawks. It’s clear that Rhule is also hugely influential in the process and owner David Tepper is sure to have his say in pursuit of landing an exciting, franchise-altering quarterback sooner rather than later.

That doesn’t appear as if it’s going to be Deshaun Watson, who has some civil suits to contend with before teams even contemplate offering the Houston Texans a monumental trade package. But moving up in the 2021 NFL Draft to land one of the top prospects is not out of the realm of possibility.

Without further ado, we picked out five former Panthers players who are still on the market and chose some potential suitors for each veteran in the days and weeks ahead.

Player No. 1

Trai Turner – OG

• Suitors – New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals.

Trai Turner was shown the door by the Los Angeles Chargers just one year removed from his trade that saw Pro Bowl left tackle Russell Okung sent to the Carolina Panthers. Both seasoned pros dealt with injury problems last time out and find themselves on the free-agent scrapheap, but there are sure to be a couple of landing spots for either player considering their body of work in the past.

It’s easy to forget that Turner is still just 27-years-old considering all he’s accomplished. His play has no doubt regressed over the last two years and this might mean a more incentivized deal with another team en route to finding a new home.

At least from the outside looking in, the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals would be good fits. Both teams need to better protect their young quarterbacks to stand any chance of success moving forward and adding Turner would solidify the interior while also creating lanes in the run game.