8 players who belong in the Carolina Panthers Hall of Shame

Matt Kalil – Former Carolina Panthers OT

• 2017

This was it. The signing of Matt Kalil was going to solve a long-term problem at left tackle where the Carolina Panthers were concerned.

However, things didn’t go according to plan.

Kalil signed a big-money deal in free agency to reunite with brother Ryan Kalil, who will go down in folklore as one of Carolina’s best-ever lineman and locker room leaders. It came with some risk at the time after the lineman appeared in just two games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2016 due to injury, but it wasn’t staying healthy that was the problem.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, it was a distinct lack of production.

The former top-five pick out of USC was like a rabbit in the headlights for most of his one season in Carolina. Kalil gave up six sacks and conceded an astonishing 10 penalties from 1,064 snaps, leaving the Panthers with no real option other than to release the blindside protector.

This is something Carolina was still paying for in 2020. Cutting ties with Kalil left the Panthers on the hook for a substantial amount of dead-cap money, which only came off the books this offseason.

Kalil hasn’t been able to make a roster since. Not exactly a surprise considering how poor he was and the Panthers are still searching for someone to reliably lock down their left tackle spot.