Free Agents

Ok, so ill try splaining..

Dating back to 2016 I think,, we had graham gano. Drafted Harrison butker. Lost him off the ps to the cheifs(he’s doing well). Kept gano till 19/20, when we cut him due to health(leg). He’s doing well for the giants. Signed Joey Slye. He did well n hit a rough patch. Let him go this off-season. He did well for the football team. That’s just the place kicker. All self inflicted wounds dating almost 6 years. We’ve had good ones. Just let them go. Also Zane did well. Can we trade Darnold for Johnny Hekker? Better all time passer rating. ?

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Also, I view Thomas as a good blocker. Tremble is the splashier te prospect. I like us with Ian as a te #2. If he doesn’t, get another. Nature of the game. Find the value play, like luvu last year! Find depth that fits at a low cost. Spend on ol please.

Gotta get better without many resources. Tough offseason.

Well Josh, no need for me to go nuts with stats, but there are a few......and let me say this...... We NEVER should have got rid of Gano. He had a terrific leg. Still has the longest FG as a Panther. Tied with the longest FG EVER in the NFL (IIRC..??) till last year when Justin Tucker kicked a 66 yd.. Gano was tied with several others at 63 yds. Anyway when we released him, Gano had a problem with his foot. Not his "kicking" foot or "kicking" leg, but his "plant" foot. We dumped him....Stupid, Stupid. He is still doing well.. Joey Slye was NEVER very accurate as a Panther. He supposedly had a really "strong" leg (And he certainly "looked" strong..). But the truth is in the numbers. Longest FG with the Panthers was 56. Longest career FG is 56 = Meh...??  His FG 'made' percentage 2019 (Panthers..) was 78%. In 2020 (Panthers..) it was 80%. He played with three different teams last year (2021). Houston = 80%. SF 49ers = 87%....Then Washington where he hit 12 of 12 = 100%, BUT no LONG ones.  His Career Percentage = 83%.... Nothing to brag about. His PAT percentage runs about 88% year over year. Career percentage = 88%  NOT GOOD..!!

So, to your point, "we've had good ones"  (during the five years you mentioned..) ..... Well, sort of. We've had ONE good one (Gano), and one "so-so" (Slye). We dumped Slye because he couldn't make a PAT. WAY too many misses. And it still continues. Although he DID clean up his FG kicking late this past year, the PATs still leave a lot to be desired. AND he still hasn't kicked a LONG FG. Now Gonzales is a different story. EXTREMELY reliable on PATs and FGs. Doesn't have a really "strong" leg, but he's almost "automatic".

Here is our Kicker lineup from last year  (JUST LAST YEAR..!!)
Lirim Hajrullahu;  Blake Haubeil;  Alex Kessman;  Dominik Eberle;  Ryan Santoso;  and Zane Gonzales----- We went through six (6) kickers to find Zane.  Last year we lost four games by 6 points or less. How many have we lost in the past three years since Gano..?? How many would a good kicker have won for us.??  Of course it's silly to speculate...no one could forecast what would have happened.  BUT it always pays to have a GOOD kicker. And what I said about the leading points scorer....is absolutely true.

My only point here is, we NEED to find a GOOD kicker and HOLD ON TO HIM. THAT is why I put Gonzales on my list of seven. AND also the reason I MIGHT include our punter, Lachlan Edwards. Remember, we fought the same battle with our Punter last year (although not as bad..).

I wish Zane could kick from 60.... With his accuracy he would be a real "plus" for our ST unit.

OH---I FORGOT..... You're correct about Butker. He is terrific.!! Second only to Justin Tucker in FG percentage (IIRC...over 90%.!!). There's another one we should have kept.!!

***I AM BRINGING THIS THREAD BACK TO LIFE***

There's a reason--- The new league year begins on March 16th.  Which means..????

That's right, FREE AGENCY officially begins on March 16th also. There is a two-day "tampering period" starting on March 14th where teams, players, agents, etc,. can begin "talking" officially.  Since the Super Bowl is coming up RSN  (Real Soon Now..), and the league will almost immediately switch over into planning and "HYPE" mode as soon as the SB is over... AND, since the official NFL "Trading Period" begins as soon as current contracts expire (which is 4:00 PM on March 16th..)...  AND, since all of this starts the "Run-Up" to the 2022 NFL Draft which takes place starting on April 28th.........

 Well, it's time to start thinking seriously about which direction our Panthers are moving this year.....

SO, Here are the Panthers Free Agents for 2022. Interestingly enough, there are twenty-two FAs in 2022.

I will try to keep this current as we go forward. As the news breaks, I'll update this list with who is staying, and who isn't. It'll be interesting to see which and how many of these guys stay around.

So, the word is out. The first FA staying (at least for awhile..) is  J.J.Jansen.....

Ameer Abdullah--
Juston Burris--
Jermaine Carter Jr.--
Sean Chandler--
Lachlan Edwards--
Alex Erickson--
Stephon Gilmore--
Zane Gonzalez--
Marquis Haynes Sr.--
Donte jackson--
J.J. Jansen--RETAINED/RESIGNED
DaQuan Jones--
Frankie Luvu--
Raashan Melvin--
John Miller--
Cam Newton--
Matt Paradis--
Haason Reddick--
Trent Scott--
Julian Stanford--
Ian Thomas--
Brandon Zylstra--

Please no jimmy g! I’d rather have a first round tackle if the third t is there or a qb after a trade back maybe. Depends who gives up what to move up. We’d need a few picks for a move back, but would b willing if our guy is not there. I predicts Sam d starts week one.. We really, seriously need a lt. for a decade now. I like Brady c. Give him a shot, or make him a g. One decision. Gotta answer lots more. My take entering fa. The nD s looks worth a look. Know Rhule could get fired starting Sam week one. I don’t see us fixing anything else paying for, or picking a qb at 6. Swing big at ol n fa! Lb too. Try to get more draft picks.

Sam’s not the answer, but can we move on from 18.9 mill? We are basically stuck.

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I think we might be .500 with Sam n a professional ol. We will see.

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JMHO.

Thanks for keeping the thread alive.  There are only a few on that list that it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see leave.  We need to find a way to keep most of them.

We’re keeping Luvu!

SO, Here are the Panthers Free Agents for 2022. Interestingly enough, there are twenty-two FAs in 2022.

I will try to keep this current as we go forward. As the news breaks, I'll update this list with who is staying, and who isn't. It'll be interesting to see which and how many of these guys stay around.

So, the word is out. The first FA staying (at least for awhile..) is  J.J.Jansen.....

Ameer Abdullah--
Juston Burris--
Jermaine Carter Jr.--
Sean Chandler--
Lachlan Edwards--
Alex Erickson--
Stephon Gilmore--
Zane Gonzalez--
Marquis Haynes Sr.--
Donte jackson--
J.J. Jansen--RETAINED/RESIGNED SEE HERE: Panthers Agree to Terms With Jansen (Official Announcement)
DaQuan Jones--
Frankie Luvu--RETAINED/RESIGNED/EXTENDED  SEE HERE:  Panthers Retain Luvu (Official announcement)
Raashan Melvin--
John Miller--
Cam Newton--
Matt Paradis--
Haason Reddick--
Trent Scott--
Julian Stanford--
Ian Thomas--
Brandon Zylstra--

UPDATED THURSDAY, 2-17-2022

Am I the only one who could care less if we let DJax walk? He’s not that good, and constantly gets burned when paired against #1’s. The only plays he makes Is in the run game, or when he was out of position to begin with.


AND WHEN HE GETS BURNED HES ALL OF A SUDDEN HURT! Wtf dude? Goodbye.