Grading Carolina Panthers' latest five moves including Jordan Fuller signing
By Dean Jones
Grading the Carolina Panthers' latest four moves during the 2024 offseason, including the decision to sign veteran safety Jordan Fuller.
Dan Morgan, Dave Canales, and Brandt Tilis continue with their roster building in pursuit of improved fortunes. The Carolina Panthers have been active with plenty of incomings and departures. Some established fan favorites are no longer around, but those in power have a legitimate plan in place for long-term prosperity.
Visits are scheduled with Mike Williams and Michael Gallup, so the Panthers aren't done. Morgan wants as much flexibility as possible heading into the 2024 NFL Draft - especially with no first-round pick to call upon. He can only accomplish this feat by ensuring there are no glaring needs on the roster beforehand.
The Panthers have done more with less this offseason so far. They've got rid of bad contracts to provide financial flexibility in the coming years. While significant strides forward might not happen right away, things are being done properly after so much mismanagement under previous regimes.
With that being said, we graded the latest four moves made by the Panthers during a frantic recruitment period up to now.
Carolina Panthers restructure Shaq Thompson's contract
A lot of veterans were asked to take pay cuts and refused. They are no longer around. Thankfully for the Carolina Panthers, linebacker Shaq Thompson was more receptive.
Once again, Thompson put the team first and reworked his contract. He'll make a base salary of $3.1 million with $1.7 million guaranteed. This cleared $3 million in cap space and ensures the captain sticks around on a friendlier contract.
Grade: A+
This is a time of great change, so having long-standing veterans such as Thompson and J.J. Jansen around keeps a sense of continuity. If the former first-round pick out of Washington shows no ill effects from the injury that ended his 2023 campaign prematurely, he'll have a huge role to play in Ejiro Evero's defense with Frankie Luvu no longer on the books.