5 most important Carolina Panthers offseason arrivals in 2022

Xavier Woods – Carolina Panthers S

Jeremy Chinn’s production after reverting back to the safety position was encouraging. But the Carolina Panthers needed to find a consistent presence alongside him to provide the Southern Illinois product with the freedom to be instinctive all over the field – something he does extremely well.

Fortunately for the Panthers, they managed to pick this up relatively early in free agency with the addition of Xavier Woods, who joined the ranks following a bounce-back campaign for the Minnesota Vikings last time around.

Woods deserves credit for getting his career back on track. Playing with All-Pro Harrison Smith obviously helped, so having another stud presence in Chinn could allow this momentum to continue in a different environment.

The Panthers gave Woods a three-year, $15 million contract with a $5 million signing bonus and $6.03 million guaranteed. Again, this represents a good deal providing the defensive back doesn’t revert back to the player we saw struggling for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.

This is a low-risk, high-reward pickup for the Panthers. One that might make all the difference within a secondary littered with young, dynamic talent.