For the first time in nearly a decade, the Carolina Panthers made the NFL playoffs. They went 8-9 and squeaked in as NFC South promotes, and they took the eventual NFC runner-upsto the wire in the Wild Card Round, but they just couldn’t get the job done late in the game.

There are a lot of reasons for optimism for Panthers fans, but there are also some concerns. This roster still isn’t ready to win 10+ games and be a perennial playoff contender, especially with a much harder schedule coming up, so today, I’m going to try to construct the perfect offseason for the Panthers to set them up for success in the near future.

Roster Management

The Carolina Panthers enter the offseason with about $14 million to work with, but they can easily grow that number by making some cuts and restructuring some deals.

I only cut two key players this offseason. DT A’Shawn Robinson has been a fine player for Carolina, but his production hasn’t matched his salary, and cutting him saved $8.4 million. I also cut TE Tommy Tremble, knowing I could find another option in free agency or the draft, and he saved around $5 million.

The big money comes from the restructures, though. CB Jaycee Horn and DT Derrick Brown, two defenders who are going to be around for a while, restructured their deals, opening up a tad over $12 million each. I also restructured OT Taylor Moton, OG Damien Lewis, DT Tershawn Wharton and S Tre’Von Moehrig, creating another $30 million in cap space.

With these changes, I managed to open up $85 million in cap space heading into free agency.

Free Agency & Trades

Before I made any signings, the Arizona Cardinals offered me S Budda Baker in exchange for the 156th pick in the draft. I had to take on $14.4 million this year, but he’s an All-Pro level safety that could transform this defense.

After that trade, I went out and re-signed a few key players. First order of business was getting WR Jalen Coker back as an exclusive rights free agent, meaning as long as I offered him a minimum salary, he had to sign with the Panthers. After that, I brought back C Cade Mays on a two-year deal worth $13.2 million annually to return as the starting center, and I paid LB Christian Rozeboom $5.2 million on a one-year contract after his breakout season.

With $52 million left in the bank, I went on a bit of a spending spree. The biggest addition I made was signing RB Kenneth Walker to a three-year deal worth $12 million annually. After letting Rico Dowdle go, I had to bring in another running back to complement Chuba Hubbard. This 1-2 punch would be one of the best in the league, and we saw how much better Carolina’s offense was with a strong rushing attack.

I also added WR Rashid Shaheed on a two-year deal worth $10 million annually to put next to Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. And after I cut Tommy Tremble, I signed TE Tyler Higbee to a one-year, $3.3 million deal to add some depth at the tight end position.

Defensively, I brought in a pair of pass rushers. First, I signed DE K’Lavon Chaisson to a three-year deal worth $15.1 million per year. He had a career season with the Patriots, and pairing him with Nic Scourton secures the long-term future at edge rusher. I also added DE Dante Fowler to a two-year deal worth $10.1 million annually to provide some more depth there.

NFL Draft

After seeing how much Bryce Young improved last year with Tet McMillan, I wanted to go out and get another playmaker in the first round. All of the top receivers were gone, but TE Kenyon Sadiq fell right into my lap. He’s an incredible pass catcher at the tight end position, and the tandem of him and Tyler Higbee would be one of the best in the NFC.

In round two, I wanted a corner, but I didn’t feel there was enough value there, so I ended up going with S AJ Haulcy. He can do pretty much everything you want a safety to do, and with just two years left on Baker’s deal, he could step into Baker’s role in 2028 if the Panthers don’t want to pay Baker top dollar. Until then, he can be a great rotational player.

In round three, I snagged LB Jacob Rodriguez to pair with Christian Rozeboom. Rodriguez was one of the best defenders in the country last season, and even though he’s not a top prospect, he could develop into a solid starter.

Things got a little interesting in round four when I decided to pick QB Garrett Nussmeier. Bryce Young had a career year in 2025, but he hasn’t given the Panthers a reason to give him a long-term extension. Maybe a talented rookie could put him on the hot seat and motivate him to be even better in 2026.

In the fifth round, I selected WR CJ Daniels. He had a great run with Miami last season, and will provide depth to a pretty thin receiver room. He has more upside than a lot of players drafted this late.

‘Finally, I rounded the draft out by selecting CB Jermaine Matthews in the sixth and DT Albert Regis in the seventh to add depth to those position rooms.

Starting Lineup

Here’s what Carolina’s starting lineup would look like with the changes I made this offseason.

Offense

QB: Bryce Young

RB: Kenneth Walker, Chuba Hubbard

WR: Tetairoa McMillan, Rashid Shaheed, Jalen Coker

TE: Kenyon Sadiq, Tyler Higbee

OL: Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Cade Mays, Robert Hunt, Taylor Moton

This offseason was about surrounding Bryce Young with more weapons, and I think I did a pretty good job of that. I got him one of the best running backs in the league, a speedy receiver to pair with McMillan, and a tight end that could end up being one of the best in the league. I probably could’ve made some changes up front, but Young was sacked just 27 times last season, so I wanted to focus my money on more dire situations.

Defense

DL: K’Lavon Chaisson, Derrick Brown, Dante Fowler

LB: Nic Scourton, Jacob Rodriguez, Christian Rozeboom, Princely Umanmielen

CB: Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, Chau Smith-Wade

S: Tre’Von Moehrig, Budda Baker

I love this defense. With the changes I made, the Panthers’ pass rush group got much more dangerous, and I love the addition of Jacob Rodriguez to the off-ball linebacker group. I would’ve liked to get an impact corner, but Jaycee Horn can hold things down as CB1, and adding Budda Baker and AJ Haulcy makes their safety group much more intimidating.

The NFC South is wide open next year, so if the Panthers can make similar additions to this, I think they could be dancing in the playoffs again in 2026.