Free Agents

I’d like to start with our own.

Djax n Gilmore is a question of mentor, how many we need.  I love both, but how many guys can we keep?  I see one coming back.

We need zylstra.  Can b 3rd wo, ko specialist, gunner, personal protector for our punter, bu long snapper.  Love that guy.

Would like Abdullah back.  Cmc lite.

Ian Thomas is not a bad te.

Hassan back would b great.

We need more dts.  Love the 4/5 we have, but injuries.  Brown, Roy, Nixon, Hoskins, Jones.  Lots of missed games.  



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We also are lacking at lb, n more important ol. It’s not a mistake I left that alone on resigns…

I’d like to start with our own.

Djax n Gilmore is a question of mentor, how many we need.  I love both, but how many guys can we keep?  I see one coming back.

We need zylstra.  Can b 3rd wo, ko specialist, gunner, personal protector for our punter, bu long snapper.  Love that guy.

Would like Abdullah back.  Cmc lite.

Ian Thomas is not a bad te.

Hassan back would b great.

We need more dts.  Love the 4/5 we have, but injuries.  Brown, Roy, Nixon, Hoskins, Jones.  Lots of missed games.  



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We also are lacking at lb, n more important ol.  It’s not a mistake I left that alone on resigns…

In my opinion, Zylstra is a baller.  He does everything asked of him.  He can run routes, he can catch, and he can block.  We need to keep him.

I really, really like Abdullah.  He can play in the NFL.  Sometimes I even like him more than Chubba Hubbard.

Personally, Ian Thomas has been a disappointment for me.  And that isn't a knock on him as much as a knock on our lack of play at the quarterback position.  On a different team with a different quarterback, he could be a pro bowler.

Hassan is a need.  Period. 

Our O-Line, or LACK THEREOF, reared its head like a screaming Medussa this year.  And so far Matt Rhule has done little to anything to fix it.  

I can't name a single player on our defense that I could put on the "needs to be cut" list.  

But if we don't fix the O-Line, and NOW, we can forget the Matt Rhule era as it will be over and we'll still be bottom of the barrel.  

Post Script:  I do not and never will believe Sam Darnold will be more than a stop-gap in our search for a Franchise Quarterback.

Can’t argue with any of that. I am disappointed I missed a guy I’d like us to resign. Luvu. Not many snaps, plenty “splash” plays. Great st guy. Y’all look up snaps n stats. Frankie Luvu produced.

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If we can get Darnold a line next year he could be mid-teir qb. Darnold at prime daulton levels. All we need right now. Step up gm. Find a line. Let us have a chance at 10 wins. Please!

I'll keep this to the point (hopefully..!!).
The Panthers currently have twenty-two (22..) Unrestricted Free Agents. There are three additional ERFA (Exclusive Rights..). And apparently NO RFAs (Restricted Rights..)

Ameer Abdullah--We need to keep this guy.! Powerful. Dynamic.
Juston Burris--One of our Safetys. I think we need to keep him.
Jermaine Carter Jr.--We're short on quality LBs. If we let him walk, we DEFINITELY need a new Middle LB.
Sean Chandler--Safety out of Temple---I'm NOT convinced.
Lachlan Edwards--Good Punter. I think we keep him. OR--we'll have to find another one. No other Punter on the roster.
Alex Erickson--WR--I think we let him walk.
Stephon Gilmore--Top Line CB. I WANT to keep him. But we'll have to draw a line somewhere...???
Zane Gonzalez--Good Kicker. Accurate. Would prefer a Kicker with more distance..??
Marquis Haynes Sr.--Only fair DE. Small. I'm not sold. I think we let him walk.
Donte jackson--Top Line CB. I WANT to keep him. But we'll have to draw that line again somewhere..??
J.J. Jansen--Long Snapper. We have Fletcher who is decent. This could be the year J.J leaves..??
DaQuan Jones--Good DT. Love to keep him. It all comes down to money. If he walks, we'll be looking for help..??
Frankie Luvu--All Pro LB. We NEED this guy.
Raashan Melvin--He's 32-33 y.o. We have a strong CB room. I think we let him walk.
John Miller--I'm NOT sold. We're rebuilding the O-Line. This guy is a casualty.
Cam Newton--I'm a fan--BUT I think he's past his "use by" date. Another casualty.
Matt Paradis--Depends on who we can find. We have Elflein (and Tecklenburg (Baylor.!)) Paradis is serviceable..??
Haason Reddick--Love this guy. WANT to keep him. Just don't know if we can..???
Trent Scott--Decent 'Swing' Tackle. It's rebuild time though. Maybe--Maybe not.??
Julian Stanford--Another questionable LB. Aging out (31-32 y.o.) I'm NOT convinced. Depends on who we can find/draft..??
Ian Thomas--Good blocking TE. If he'll drop some weight, maybe pick up some speed..?? Maybe--Maybe not..??
Brandon Zylstra--I like Zylstra. SHOULD keep him.

The three ERFAs are:

Giovanni Ricci--Already Resigned
P.J. Walker--Already resigned
Mike Panasiuk--Not currently on the roster. DT. A little light on weight maybe. Depends on what he would cost. Might tender him.??


NOTE: There's a LOT of PINK up there!!  Lots of work to do. lots of tough decisions.!!

What’s pink do/mean?

I'll keep this to the point (hopefully..!!).
The Panthers currently have twenty-two (22..) Unrestricted Free Agents. There are three additional ERFA (Exclusive Rights..). And apparently NO RFAs (Restricted Rights..)

***NOTE:***
GREEN=Good--- Yes--- Keep
RED=Lacking or Poor Value--- No--- Gone, See Ya Later
PINK=Meh? Who knows--- Needs Improvement--- Some Value, But..??--- Could be CAP casualty.??
RED-GREEN-PINK-COMBINATION=VALUE TO TEAM COULD CHANGE/VARY--- depends on what we do; which way we go in FA; Who the new OC might be; Number of draft picks we END UP with, etc, etc....

Ameer Abdullah--We need to keep this guy.! Powerful. Dynamic.
Juston Burris--One of our Safetys. I think we need to keep him.
Jermaine Carter Jr.--We're short on quality LBs. If we let him walk, we DEFINITELY need a new Middle LB.
Sean Chandler--Safety out of Temple---I'm NOT convinced.
Lachlan Edwards--Good Punter. I think we keep him. OR--we'll have to find another one. No other Punter on the roster.
Alex Erickson--WR--I think we let him walk.
Stephon Gilmore--Top Line CB. I WANT to keep him. But we'll have to draw a line somewhere...???
Zane Gonzalez--Good Kicker. Accurate. Would prefer a Kicker with more distance..??
Marquis Haynes Sr.--Only fair DE. Small. I'm not sold. I think we let him walk.
Donte Jackson--Top Line CB. I WANT to keep him. But we'll have to draw that line again somewhere..??
J.J. Jansen--Long Snapper. We have Fletcher who is decent. This could be the year J.J leaves..??
DaQuan Jones--Good DT. Love to keep him. It all comes down to money. If he walks, we'll be looking for help..??
Frankie Luvu--All Pro LB. We NEED this guy.
Raashan Melvin--He's 32-33 y.o. We have a strong CB room. I think we let him walk.
John Miller--I'm NOT sold. We're rebuilding the O-Line. This guy is a casualty.
Cam Newton--I'm a fan--BUT I think he's past his "use by" date. Another casualty.
Matt Paradis--Depends on who we can find. We have Elflein (and Tecklenburg (Baylor.!)) Paradis is serviceable..??
Haason Reddick--Love this guy. WANT to keep him. Just don't know if we can..???
Trent Scott--Decent 'Swing' Tackle. It's rebuild time though. Maybe--Maybe not.??
Julian Stanford--Another questionable LB. Aging out (31-32 y.o.) I'm NOT convinced. Depends on who we can find/draft..??
Ian Thomas--Good blocking TE. If he'll drop some weight, maybe pick up some speed..?? Maybe--Maybe not..??
Brandon Zylstra--I like Zylstra. SHOULD keep him.

The three ERFAs are:

Giovanni Ricci--Already Resigned
P.J. Walker--Already resigned
Mike Panasiuk--Not currently on the roster. DT. A little light on weight maybe. Depends on what he would cost. Might tender him.??


NOTE: There's a LOT of PINK up there!!  Lots of work to do. lots of tough decisions.!!

The problem with lists like this is---- EVERYTHING hinges on something else.!!  There are about TEN (10) of these guys that I really want to keep (Greenies..). The rest can go hump a camel....they can be replaced. HOWEVER--We NEED backups and reserves. We have a few here and there, but as we saw this past year, "What CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong."

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What’s pink do/mean?

See my NOTES/ CHANGES up there ^^^ 

For some reason...?????  My "edit" for clarity caused a whole new post..?????  Strange..???

Basically--- Green is "GOOD" or "GO" or "KEEP"
Red is "NO" or "SAYONARA baby" or "Hit the road"
Pink is Everything else or "UNPROVEN" or "MAYBE" or "WHO THE HELL KNOWS"
Green/Pink combinations are "issues" that require attention or "Questions" that need to be answered.

***More explanations up there..^^^

Luvu doesn't nothing but makes plays. He needs to be a staple of our Defense.

So....

As an exercise, try this. Refer to the list of twenty two FAs up there.^^^. Make some tough decisions. Pick seven (7) that you really want to keep. Pick the ones who will do the most for the team. The ones who will be the hardest to replace.

I'll go first:

1) Donte Jackson
2) Frankie Luvu
3) Haason Reddick
4) Ameer Abdullah
5) DaQuan Jones
6) Zane Gonzalez
7) Lachlan Edwards ---- I guess..???

This is tougher than it looks. I REALLY want to keep Stephon Gilmore but I think two TOP CBs are too much to ask for this year.
I also realize that Kickers/Punters are NOT usually high $$ players. BUT I remember this past year the struggles we had at both of those positions. 

I don't know...?????

Jackson, luvu, Abdullah, Jones, reddick, Thomas, zylstra.. special spot for Gilmore on the cheap. specialists are just that. Get 2.wouldn’t mind Zane.

Jackson, luvu, Abdullah, Jones, reddick, Thomas, zylstra.. special spot for Gilmore on the cheap.  specialists are just that.  Get 2.wouldn’t mind Zane.

Hey Josh... Couple of questions..

You mentioned Ian Thomas. I like Thomas as a blocker,  BUT...  Here is the question. Do you realize that Ian weighs 260+?? That's OK for a blocker, but he has no downfield speed and precious little endurance. If he was 6'6" or 6'7" that might be different. But he is only 6'4". No way he should weigh 260 lbs at his height. Can we afford to keep him as a blocker.??? I would contend he needs to lose 15-20 lbs and build some speed/endurance.!!

Second question: You mentioned the specialists. Not so easy to just "pick one up somewhere" who can be productive.!! How many kickers did we go through in the last two or three years.?? How many games were lost because of poor kicking.?? I don't know the actual numbers, but it was a bunch.!!  I remember the constant barrage of hate here on this forum and other places when we missed a kick that cost us. And, just as a matter of information, do you realize that the "kicker" on a team is directly responsible for more points than any other player.?? That's right. The kicker is ALMOST ALWAYS the team scoring leader. When it comes to close games (like the Panthers..), the kicker is always "under the gun". VERY pressure-packed situations. WE NEED a good kicker. And since they're not on the field for a LOT of plays, they are relatively inexpensive. Lot easier to keep a good kicker (if you have one..) considering the cap situation... I'm not saying Gonzalez is THAT guy. I would rather have a guy with "more leg". But, he IS hugely accurate and VERY reliable.

Anyway, your turn...