3 things Scott Fitterer must do to earn trust of Carolina Panthers fans

Carolina Panthers must pay the right players

One of the biggest roster-building pitfalls is paying the wrong players.

No general manager will bat 1.000 in this regard. But the Carolina Panthers have consistently allowed the wrong stars to leave in favor of extending contracts to less influential individuals or positions.

The Panthers made this mistake last offseason when they allowed Haason Reddick and Stephon Gilmore to leave while extending Ian Thomas and Donte Jackson.

Reddick went on to have an All-Pro season for the Philadelphia Eagles as a pass rusher, while Thomas and Jackson were not effective in their roles – partly due to injury, in the cornerback’s case.

Two years prior, the Panthers extended Robbie – now “Chosen” – Anderson instead of the more versatile Curtis Samuel, or investing money in the offensive line. Though the wideout had been productive in 2020, he was not able to find the same success in 2021 or 2022 and was eventually traded for the draft equivalent of a ham sandwich.

This offseason, Fitterer will have work to do in re-signing center Bradley Bozeman. This should be the top priority above all else.

Bozeman played an integral role in the offense’s transformation to a ground-and-pound machine. In addition, he is a leader in the locker room and quickly became a fixture in the community. There would be no logical excuse for allowing him to sign with another team.

In addition to Bozeman, Carolina also needs to extend Brian Burns very soon. As it stands, the defensive end is arguably the face of the Panthers right now.

He is one of the few marquee players on the roster. Burns is a young, talented player in a premium position. It also feels like the former first-round pick may be primed for a substantial leap forward within Ejiro Evero’s defensive scheme.

If Scott Fitterer wants to earn the trust of Panthers fans, he should pay Bozeman and Burns.