4 ways the Carolina Panthers can avoid disaster in 2023 free agency

Carolina Panthers must sign LB depth

The recent hiring of Ejiro Evero as defensive coordinator comes with a new scheme. He helped run a 3-4 defense with the Denver Broncos, which came with plenty of success.

While the Carolina Panthers have Frankie Luvu and Shaq Thompson to lead the linebacking core, they need another second-level defender in free agency to provide depth behind those two stalwarts. That’s if the former first-round selection sticks around.

Jeremy Chinn has the experience, but he will be an outside linebacker in base defense or a slot corner at the line of scrimmage in nickel, dime, and substitution packages. Meaning Carolina only has two rotational presences under contract at the moment.

Brandon Smith is solid and has a bright future. But Damien Wilson barely played last season and is probably getting cut. And while Cory Littleton is decent, there are other options that fit Evero’s scheme better.

Scott Fitterer has to fill that spot on the depth chart with a player who can rotate in as a middle linebacker and as a rover on the outside. Alex Singleton, Lavonte David, T.J Edwards, and Kyzir White are a few names that come to mind when thinking of potential signings to fill this role.

In particular, Singleton makes the most sense to pursue. He had great success under Evero and is likely interested in playing under him once again.

In recent years around the NFL, teams that acquire free-agent linebackers who fit their defensive scheme have worked out very well. Carolina’s signing of Luvu in 2021 is a fine example of this.