5 ambitious goals for the Carolina Panthers 2022 offseason period

Carolina Panthers finally fix the OL

Nothing went right along the interior of the offensive line in 2021 and the edges were only corrected because of injury and a bit of pride swallowing from Matt Rhule over the great arm length debate.

None of the players slotted in at guard or center this season showed any reason to be brought back in 2022 except for possibly Michael Jordan and little-used rookie Deonte Brown. This unit was one of the worst in the league and it wasn’t particularly close.

Whoever was under center was constantly under duress. The amount of low effort plays from both John Miller and Cam Erving that led to big hits and sacks still angers large sections of the team’s fanbase.

The only problem is that the class of free-agent lineman isn’t as fruitful as it was last year and the best of the bunch is going to pull a much higher price tag as a result. Someone like Brandon Scherff will most likely take a deal worth the same or at least the majority of what the Carolina Panthers have in total cap space.

So the Panthers will once again have to scrape the relative bottom of the barrel to fill their needs and that is such a dangerous position to be in. There is simply a larger gap between the too expensive and not worth the money this offseason.

Someone like Connor Williams would be a good value signing and bringing back Matt Paradis wouldn’t be the worst of decisions, but this position needs a miracle or this team is going nowhere but down. Even with a now secured duo of edge protectors for the first time in years.

The big guys up front are chronically underrated and 2021 proved that. This season was lost the moment the contracts for Erving and Pat Elflein were signed and the team needs to realize their importance before they waste the primes of the players around them.

With all those fancy moves Scott Fitterer has left the Panthers scrambling for answers this offseason. It just might be too tall a task to turn the organization around in such a short space of time.