4 former Carolina Panthers players that could return in 2023
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers could target Denzel Perryman
It’s clear that Denzel Perryman was not going to make a smooth transition to the Carolina Panthers with Matt Rhule at the helm. His ‘OOU‘ mindset was a complete disaster, which left the linebacker on the outside looking in before playing a competitive snap.
Perryman made headlines by getting a speeding ticket on his way to Spartanburg for his first training camp in Carolina. As it turned out, that would be the highlight of his time with the franchise.
Rhule and Perryman didn’t mesh for whatever reason. He was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for a Day 3 pick and went on to attain Pro Bowl honors during a season where he was expected to make a significant difference within Carolina’s linebacking corps.
The former second-round pick built on this with another superb campaign in 2022 en route to 84 tackles and a 74.9 grade from Pro Football Focus. Perryman is set to enter free agency and if the Raiders don’t keep him around, coming back to Carolina is a dark horse possibility.
Convincing Perryman to join the Panthers for a second time after how his first stint panned out is a tough sell. However, Rhule is no longer a complication and the player does look like a good scheme fit in Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 system thanks to his ability in coverage.
And this is the NFL, where anything can and often does happen.