4 pending free agents with connections to Panthers GM Scott Fitterer
The Carolina Panthers have hired Scott Fitterer to replace Marty Hurney as general manager. While there are some young standouts, Fitterer is inheriting an imbalanced roster with significant holes to fill on both sides of the ball, especially on defense, which was the youngest unit in the NFL this season.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at four capable defensive veterans who are about to become free agents that share a connection with Fitterer from his time with the Seattle Seahawks.
FS Earl Thomas
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Age: 31 years old Pros: Carolina's defense is arguably weakest at the safety position, where they rotated Tre Boston, Juston Burris, Sam Franklin and Jeremy Chinn during the 2020 season. Signing Thomas would instantly upgrade that group by a mile. He's arguably the most rangy defensive back of this era and has a talent for forcing turnovers, with 30 interceptions and 12 forced fumbles in his career. Thomas is a seven-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro and a Super Bowl champion who would allow defensive coordinator Phil Snow to do all kinds of interesting things schematically. He's still capable of playing at a high level, too. In 2019 he allowed a 24.2 passer rating in coverage. Cons: On the field Thomas is a sure thing. Intangibles are a concern, though. Despite dominating the NFL for much of the last decade, Thomas did not suit up for any team this year. He was released by the Ravens after getting into a fight with a teammate during training camp and his behavior off the field the last few years qualifies as a yellow flag.
CB Richard Sherman
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Age: 32 years old Pros: For a time, Sherman was by far the most capable cornerback in the sport. He was an integral part of the greatest defensive unit of the last 20 years and frequently locked down an entire half of the field. Sherman has 36 career interceptions and an incredible 115 pass breakups. Even though he's well past his prime, Sherman still qualifies as a serious upgrade over every other cornerback on the Panthers with the exception of Donte Jackson. A five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Sherman also has a football IQ off the charts that would help develop Carolina's young secondary, as he did in San Francisco. Cons: 2013 was a long time ago and Sherman's nowhere near the lock-down defender he used to be. In 2020 with the 49ers he allowed four touchdowns in coverage in just five games and a 116.2 passer rating, a huge jump from 63.0 the previous season. Sherman has also missed 21 games over the last four years due to injuries, including 11 this year.
LB K.J. Wright
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Age: 31 years old Pros: Wright is not as decorated as some of his more famous former Legion of Boom teammates. However, he's been one of the league's best off-ball linebackers for a decade now. After 144 regular season games he's still going strong, too. This year Wright racked up 86 combined tackles, including 11 for a loss. There is no better linebacker in the NFL at sniffing out screens and shutting them down. Like Sherman, Wright's intelligence would have a positive influence on younger defenders. Cons: It's extremely rare for any linebacker to play as well as Wright has for as long as he has. At some point, it's inevitable that a significant dropoff is going to come. This season we may have seen the first signs of that decline - he allowed four touchdowns and a 106.6 passer rating in coverage and uncharacteristically missed 10 tackles (10.4%). He's also not a middle linebacker, which is where the Panthers need help most.
DE Jadeveon Clowney
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Age: 27 years old Pros: When he's healthy, Clowney remains one of the most disruptive edge defenders in the entire NFL. In 83 career games, he's posted 32 sacks, 86 quarterback hits, 75 tackles for a loss, nine forced fumbles and 18 PBUs. Clowney spent the 2019 season in Seattle, where they put him to work all over their defensive line. That versatility could be just as useful in Carolina. Cons: Clowney is an obscenely gifted run defender but he's been far less successful as a pass rusher in his career. While he consistently gets pressure on opposing quarterbacks, he's always struggled converting those opportunities into sacks. Clowney also missed half of the 2020 season due to a knee injury. The Panthers are pretty loaded on the edge, so this would qualify as a luxury signing they just can't afford unless Clowney can be convinced to take a hometown discount.
