Did the Carolina Panthers overpay for TE Ian Thomas?

The Carolina Panthers tied down Ian Thomas to a new three-year deal to prevent him from hitting the free-agent market, but did they overpay for the tight end?

Another player was retained by the Carolina Panthers on Friday morning when Ian Thomas signed a new three-year deal with the organization. The tight end has been a relative non-factor in the passing game since he was tasked with filling the void left by Greg Olsen and even though his blocking came on a significant amount, the news was met with some surprise across the team’s fanbase on social media.

Things looked incredibly promising for Thomas once upon a time. His rookie production in Olsen’s absence through injury had all the makings of an heir apparent in the making, but it hasn’t gone according to plan since from a production standpoint and many believed 2021 would be the last we saw of the former fourth-round pick in Carolina.

According to Ian Rappaport of the NFL Network, Thomas’ new deal is worth $16.5 million with $6.43 million in 2022 and a total of $8 million guaranteed. Not too shabby for a player who was way down the team’s list of priorities in the passing game.

One could argue that Thomas suffered more than most from Joe Brady’s reluctance to utilize tight ends within his offensive scheme before he was fired midway through the bye week. The Indiana product has not yet had a consistent presence under center to speak of, either.

However, based on Thomas’ career production with the Panthers, it’s a lot of money whichever way one looks at it.

• 90 receptions
• 802 receiving yards
• 4 TDs
• 64.3% catch success
• 12.3 receiving yards per game
• 62.15 average passer rating when targeted
• 47 first downs gained
• 50.0 average PFF grade

Carolina Panthers see Ian Thomas as a good fit in Ben McAdoo’s offense

This move clearly had the seal of approval from Ben McAdoo, who uses tight ends frequently as part of his game plan. The Panthers evidently like how Thomas fits within this new system being implemented in Carolina based on the financial outlay.

Just who is distributing the football next season remains unclear. Until this gets better, then perhaps Carolina is banking on Thomas making a bigger impact from a blocking standpoint given the current offensive line complications.

It’s also worth remembering that the Panthers drafted Tommy Tremble in the third round last year, who flashed real quality but does need some refinement from a pass-catching perspective.

If this doesn’t work out, then the Panthers can probably move on entirely in 2023 without much in the way of dead cap money to speak of. But considering what’s at stake for Matt Rhule next time around, relying on Thomas is a big call to make.

Thomas is a serviceable player with strong physical traits. Although this hasn’t come together sufficiently with additional responsibility on his shoulders.

Of course, there are mitigating circumstances in play, which is why Thomas might deserve the benefit of the doubt. But this is still the last-chance saloon and if he can’t thrive under McAdoo, the decision to remove him from the equation will be an easy one.

Did the Panthers overpay? Only time will tell.

But they obviously see him as a core guy, so we’ll just have to see how it all pans out next season.