6 big offseason mistakes made by the Carolina Panthers at midseason
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers signed Cam Erving & Pat Elflein
The start of free agency is always an exciting time for NFL fans. For the Carolina Panthers, it saw the team make two bizarre moves on Day 1 that simply haven’t worked out.
Nobody expected miracles from Cam Erving and Pat Elflein. Both offensive linemen have been poor contributors overall since entering the league and the decision to give each player a two-year deal was bizarre at the time and even more so after the first half of the season.
It’s not like the market was robust for either player.
The Panthers may have even been bidding against themselves for all we know.
Erving is just not the answer to the team’s ongoing left tackle problems. His consistency isn’t up to the right standard and the effort he’s put in at times is also highly questionable.
The same can be said of Elflein, who was a constant weak link before going to the reserve/injured list. Of all the reinforcements Carolina could have gone with to strengthen this area of the field, they chose two of the worst.
If the Panthers decide to cut their losses with Erving and Elflein this offseason, it’s going to cost them. Around $9 million combined to be precise.
Judging by what we’ve seen so far this season, it was a huge swing and a miss by the Panthers. One that needs rectifying at the earliest possible opportunity.