Grading the previous five eventful Carolina Panthers offseasons
By Luke Tucker
With the Super Bowl in the rearview, the NFL offseason is officially in high gear and the Carolina Panthers have a lot of work to do.
The Carolina Panthers’ 2022 offseason has been underway for more than a month now, and after hiring new offensive and special-teams coordinators, the team can shift its focus to free agency and the draft.
Last year the Panthers struck one of the biggest bargain deals in the league when they brought in Haason Reddick. During his first year in Carolina, the edge defender led the team in sacks with 11 and was a key part of a resurgent defense. Rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn also seemed poised to make an instant impact in his first year and played well until suffering a season-ending foot injury in Week 3 at the Houston Texans.
There is little doubt that Matt Rhule has helped revitalize Carolina’s defense in his two seasons at the helm. However, he has yet to do so on the offensive side of the ball.
Aside from bringing in Robby Anderson, Rhule’s regime hasn’t done much to make the offense better. In many aspects, he has made it worse.
With that being said, this offseason will be crucial for Rhule’s future with the Panthers. He has to shore up what was one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL this past season – whether that be through the draft, free agency, or both.
He also needs to determine a solution at quarterback. And for the first time since he was drafted, Christian McCaffrey’s future is swirling in questions.
Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer have some huge decisions to make over the next few months. Beginning with free agency.
Players can’t officially sign until the new league year begins on March 16. The Panthers have several key players who are currently out of contract and with the draft also on the horizon, it promises to be a franchise-altering few months.
Before we look any further ahead, let’s take a look back at how the Carolina Panthers fared in their past five offseasons.