5 Carolina Panthers players who might have already peaked

Haason Reddick – Carolina Panthers DE/OLB

Of all the signings made by the Carolina Panthers during a busy free agency, the acquisition of Haason Reddick is the most intriguing.

The pass-rusher decided to reunite with his former college coach Matt Rhule after a 12.5-sack campaign with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020. This could be a shrewd bit of business by the organization if Reddick builds on a career campaign last time out.

There does appear to be some skepticism as to whether the former first-round pick can do this. Even though Arizona primarily used him out of position, it was a stark leap in production from anything we’ve seen from Reddick before.

Putting him on a defensive line that also includes Brian Burns and Derrick Brown could be all Reddick needs to maintain this standard. However, if things return to the form of old, then the Panthers can move him on with little in the way of financial implications.

What comes next will be down to Reddick. His sack total last season at least gives him an opportunity to obtain a megabucks deal in 2022, but this can only be achieved by consistency.

Reddick seems like a tremendous fit for Carolina’s defense, who struggled to generate pressure at times in the first year under Phil Snow. His physicality and explosiveness should be a noteworthy addition, but 12.5 sacks might be expecting too much from a player that has a lot at stake during the upcoming campaign.