With a handful of their key players set to hit the open market, the Carolina Panthers won’t be able to keep everybody through this offseason. But if they could at least call dibs on one of their own free agents, who would it be?
According to Pro Football Focus, it should be cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
In identifying a player each team simply cannot afford to lose, salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger chooses the former AP Defensive Player of the Year for Carolina.
“The Carolina Panthers traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for cornerback Gilmore and paid him roughly $6 million for the second half of the season,” Speilberger writes. “Gilmore was immediately tasked with covering the opposing team’s top players and rose to the challenge with a 79.4 coverage grade and zero missed tackles. With a young secondary that includes 2020 first-round cornerback CJ Henderson and 2021 first-round cornerback Jaycee Horn, Gilmore could be a great veteran mentor for both.”
PFF graded Gilmore out at a 77.1 overall mark, which was good enough to rank him 14th amongst 134 qualifying players at his position in 2021. Over his eight games, the 31-year-old allowed 15 catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns (along with two interceptions) over 22 targets.
In addition to Gilmore, the Panthers may also have decisions to make on two more defensive starers—fellow corner Donte Jackson and outside linebacker Haason Reddick. A few of the team’s other notable free agents include defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, linebackers Jermaine Carter Jr. and Frankie Luvu, center Matt Paradis and quarterback Cam Newton.
