Dan Morgan wasted no time in setting his strategy into motion. It's been a frantic few days for the Carolina Panthers, but one cannot look at their roster right now and think it hasn't improved.
By how much remains to be seen. The Panthers made some encouraging strides over the second half of 2024. Even so, Morgan faced a lot of hard work ahead to make the roster more balanced. This involved retaining some established figures and being aggressive in pursuit of convincing desired targets to join this ambitious project.
There are still moves to be made, but the pieces are slowly coming into place. Morgan's obvious purpose was fixing the defense. That's where his primary investments over the first few hours of legal tampering. After that, attention turned to re-signings and even a new special teams presence for good measure.
The table is being set by Morgan to provide flexibility during the 2025 NFL Draft, where the Panthers have nine selections as things stand. With salary-cap space dwindling, this is now the best possible route to improving the squad after most of the intriguing free-agent pieces have found alternative employment.
That's for the future. For now, we graded the first ten signings made by the Panthers over free agency so far.
Grading the Carolina Panthers' first ten signings in 2025 free agency
Carolina Panthers re-signed Brady Christensen
Brady Christensen was projected by some analysts to generate significant interest in the free-agent market. The offensive lineman's versatility to play all five positions on the protection is always a highly coveted trait. As it turned out, the Carolina Panthers found a way to keep him around.
The Panthers and Christensen agreed on a one-year extension worth $2.78 million. This keeps the entire offensive line core intact, which is great for depth purposes and fantastic news for quarterback Bryce Young.
Christensen's ability to slot in anywhere went against him last season. He became the starting center after Austin Corbett's injury. But when Ikem Ekwonu got hurt, he switched to the blindside and Cade Mays returned from the New York Giants practice squad.
Mays did enough to keep the job and Christensen returned to his swing backup role. Surprisingly, a decent offer from elsewhere didn't arrive, but the former third-round pick out of BYU reportedly loves living in Charlotte and is excited about the team's direction.
- Signing grade: A
Having this stability along the offensive line depth chart is rare around the league. It's been almost unheard of in Carolina, but those in power can relax safe in the knowledge Christensen can step in at a moment's notice anywhere.