Dan Morgan steadied the ship during his first offseason as general manager. The Carolina Panthers are on more stable foundations, but there is a significant amount of work ahead before this perennial struggler gets back among the contenders.
Morgan took sentiment out of the equation. He neglected the defense somewhat to help quarterback Bryce Young, which was a calculated risk that came with positives and negatives. The Panthers are no longer the league's laughingstock, winning back respect through much-improved performances over the second half of 2024 when all hope seemed lost.
That was the biggest objective above all else in year one under the new regime. They needed to achieve stability in the influential positions across the board. Team owner David Tepper seemed impressed despite the Panthers picking up just five wins, staying out of the limelight and letting Morgan run the football operation as he saw fit.
Adding to this newly acquired continuity is crucial. Morgan is working on a long-term plan and won't deviate from it. There are some core foundational pieces to build around, but not everyone will come along for the ride.
With this in mind, here are five Panthers players who need to be gone before the 2025 season.
Carolina Panthers players who need to be gone before the 2025 season
D.J. Johnson - Carolina Panthers OLB
The D.J. Johnson experiment needs to end. It was a contentious decision to trade up and acquire him at No. 80 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft considering his age and lack of experience as an edge rusher. He's done almost nothing to suggest a long-term future with the Carolina Panthers can be attained.
Johnson flashed promise against the run on occasion. The former Oregon prospect offers almost nothing from a pass-rushing standpoint, which is reflected in his 50.1 grade in this discipline from Pro Football Focus. That ranked 195th out of 211 qualifying edge rushers.
The Panthers need to strengthen their edge options during the recruitment period. D.J. Wonnum and Jadeveon Clowney will be around, but nobody else should feel secure. Depth was almost non-existent. Dan Morgan has nine selections in the draft and this is a deep group of edge rushers. Taking advantage of it is crucial.
What the means for Johnson's future is anyone's guess. He'll be 27 years old next season — his third in the league. If the right reinforcements are acquired, the Panthers can move in a different direction.
Ejiro Evero likes Johnson, but a better solution to Carolina's rotational pieces must be found.
Ian Thomas - Carolina Panthers TE
The Carolina Panthers gave Ian Thomas a new deal when his rookie contract expired. That's unlikely to be the case this time around.
Thomas had a huge opportunity handed to him in 2020. Matt Rhule's regime opted to let Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen walk in free agency. The former fourth-round pick got elevated to the No. 1 role despite regressing after a promising rookie campaign.
This gamble didn't pay off. Thomas couldn't get close to Olsen's contribution in the passing game. He showed promise as a blocker, but the Indiana product failed to meet raised expectations.
The Panthers didn't see Thomas as a lost cause, extending him when some fans were calling for a shift in approach. He became a blocking specialist rarely given targets. There were also injury problems that prevented him from making a difference when momentum was starting to build last summer under new head coach Dave Canales.
Thomas is a free agent this spring. After taking pay cuts to stick around over the last two years, it would be a bombshell of epic proportions if the Panthers gave him yet another reprieve. The chances of this go from extremely slim to impossible if Tommy Tremble gets another deal.
Shy Tuttle - Carolina Panthers DT
Big changes are coming to the Panthers' defense this offseason. That's an absolute necessity after Dan Morgan didn't do enough to provide defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero with the quality needed en route to a historically bad campaign.
Watching the Panthers give up the most single-season points in NFL history was embarrassing. Their run defense was disgraceful, conceding a whopping 179.8 rushing yards per game. This cannot continue if Carolina wants to enter the NFC South championship picture next time around.
This all starts in the trenches. Getting Derrick Brown back from injury will help enormously. A'Shawn Robinson should also have a role to play, but the Panthers must find a legitimate nose tackle to anchor Evero's 3-4 defensive front.
Shy Tuttle has been managing the position for the last two years. He's never looked comfortable, failing to provide the space-clogging prowess needed for others to do damage. He gets pushed around against the run and cannot generate pressure effectively enough. That's a bad combination.
It would be surprising if Tuttle was still on the roster by Week 1, or even before free agency. This is a deep draft class for defensive linemen, so the Panthers can double-dip to find a blue-chip starter and another piece to fortify their depth.
Eddy Pineiro - Carolina Panthers K
Eddy Pineiro held out the last offseason in pursuit of securing a new contract from the Carolina Panthers. That irked fans and head coach Dave Canales, who wanted everyone in the building to smooth his transition and finally get this organization trending in the right direction.
Pineiro didn't get the deal he was looking for and eventually returned once undrafted free agent kicker Harrison Mevis impressed over early workouts. The veteran won the starting job, but his production was more wayward than ever when competitive games commenced.
The former Florida standout doesn't have a big leg, making anything beyond 40 yards a difficult proposition. Pineiro is among the league's most accurate kickers statistically, but this is misleading. Frustration with efforts from a distance and failure to produce the goods in key moments saw sections of the fanbase calling for change.
Joe Person from The Athletic recently reported that the Panthers plan to let Pineiro test the free-agent market. This suggests that those in power are going in a different direction, which is the right thing to do looking at his overall body of work throughout the campaign.
Reliable kickers are hard to find, but the Panthers should avoid the temptation of going back to Pineiro if a new offer doesn't arrive at the player's door in free agency.
Miles Sanders - Carolina Panthers RB
Miles Sanders came into the Panthers as a high-profile signing in 2023 free agency. The veteran running back was hand-picked by those in power to fill the gaping void left by Christian McCaffrey following his trade to the San Francisco 49ers. It didn't take long to realize this acquisition wasn't going to go well.
Sanders suffered some injury problems during his early transition. The former second-round pick looked sluggish over the early stages of the campaign and went to injured reserve. This allowed Chuba Hubbard to take over lead duties again.
Hubbard seized the momentum. There was more purpose and explosiveness to the rushing attack when he got the lion's share of responsibilities. When Sanders returned, he assumed a secondary role.
This trend continued during the 2024 season. Sanders was utilized sparingly and suffered more issues on the injury front. Hubbard continued his ascent into a core foundational piece, earning a new four-year extension as a result of his outstanding efforts.
The Panthers need help at the running back position this offseason after Jonathon Brooks suffered another torn ACL. This is a deep draft class to solve this complication, which is far cheaper than keeping Sanders around with an $8.17 million salary-cap hit coming his way.
Releasing Sanders saves the Panthers around $5.22 million. That seems like a no-brainer all things considered.