The Carolina Panthers overpaid but still improved in NFL free agency.
2024 was a rough season for the Carolina Panthers. They finished 5-12, but they have some hope. Not only did they see Bryce Young improve throughout the year, but they were 4-5 in their final nine games.
While that’s encouraging, they still needed to add more talent — especially on the defensive side of the ball. That’s exactly what they did during NFL free agency as Carolina signed safety Tre’Von Moehrig for $17 million per season. They also kept Jaycee Horn for the foreseeable future, locking him up for $25 million per season.
These moves could be classified as overpayments, but Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport says that’s expected with Carolina paying the “bad team premium.”
Even with that being the case, he gave them a B in his pre-draft report card.
”It can be argued that Carolina overpaid for some of those defensive additions, but the ‘bad team premium’ is a thing in free agency. Now Carolina just needs to carry this positive momentum over to the 2025 NFL Draft.” — Davenport, Bleacher Report
The one player they didn’t overpay for is Rico Dowdle, who ran more than 1,000 yards for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024.
Carolina has improved their roster but keeping their grade lower than an A feels fair. There’s still a lot of work to be done, which begins this week with the draft.