If the Carolina Panthers are going to take the next step, Bryce Young needs to join in rhythm. But the team has other glaring needs, and losing its own free agents won’t help. However, here is one free agent the Panthers could sign who would fix their biggest flaw heading into the 2026 season.
The point of trouble for the Panthers, like other NFL teams, was the inability to affect the opposing team’s quarterback. Head coach Dave Canales’ Panthers must find a way to get quick pressure and give the secondary a fighting chance.
So that’s the area the team should target. And the answer isn’t the No. 1 overall free agent, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, according to Pro Football Focus. It’s a different pass rusher.
Panthers should sign edge rusher Jaelan Phillips
It depends on who you trust in the free-agent rankings. Pro Football Focus lists Phillips as No. 14 overall.
“Injuries have plagued Phillips‘ career, but he looked closer to his best after arriving in Philadelphia ahead of the trade deadline,” PFF wrote. “From Week 10 on, he earned a 70.2 PFF pass-rush grade and generated 44 total pressures.”
That’s the kind of production the Panthers would be looking to acquire. It’s also how NFL.com sees Phillips, ranking him at No. 3 overall. The strong finish made a huge wallet difference for Phillips.
“No NFL player made himself more money in 2025,” Rosenthal wrote. “After dealing with devastating injuries in back-to-back seasons, Phillips was excellent in Miami, then helped transform the Eagles' defense with his complete arsenal. His best should still be ahead of him.”
Of course, the Eagles would like to keep Phillips. They basically will have traded a third-round pick for a rental player if they don’t get him back. But Eagles GM Howie Roseman said he understood the risk, according to Sports Illustrated.
“We understood also here's a worst-case situation, which is he's going to be a free agent,” said the GM. “If he leaves as a free agent, you would have to not sign somebody to get the comp pick for next year. Understanding that.
“And also, the hardest part about free agency is understanding who the player is because you don't live with that person, and getting the chance to be with him. And see who he was, obviously, to us is even more addictive.”
The Panthers struggled with pass rush last season
With just 30 sacks last season, the Panthers ranked No. 29 in the NFL. That’s a big reason they allowed a 66.3 completion percentage.
Rookie Nic Scourton led the Panthers with just five sacks. Derrick Brown also had five. The team simply didn’t have a dominant pass rusher.
Now, Phillips isn’t a dominant pass rusher in terms of sacks. In his five seasons, Phillips has only 28 total. He had five last year between the Dolphins and Eagles.
However, he had a good pass-rush grade from PFF. His number of 77.1 ranked No. 20 among 155 edge rushers. Also, Phillips totaled 57 quarterback hurries, ranking No. 5 in the NFL. Furthermore, he racked up 73 total pressures for a ranking of No. 9.
All of those numbers would be music to the ears of Panthers’ fans. Scourton had only 34 pressures last season. Brown totaled 35. So Phillips had twice as many pressures as the Panthers’ top two sack leaders.
Why should the Panthers pursue Jaelan Phillips?
One reason is salary. If the Panthers went hard and heavy after Hendrickson, they would likely spend a huge percentage of their cap money.
Phillips has a market value of $17.3 million, according to Spotrac. He would be looking for a three-year $52 million deal. That’s notably less expensive than Hendrickson.
Plus, Phillips will be 27 years old in May. That’s notably younger than Hendrickson.
Now, Hendrickson will produce more sacks than Phillips over the course of the season, considering both stay healthy. But the idea isn’t “sacks only.” It’s about quarterback pressure. And that's where things even out in Phillips’ favor.
Hendrickson was limited to seven games in 2025. And that’s why he only totaled 23 pressures and 14 hurries. Still, if you expand those numbers to a full season, you get 56 pressures and 34 hurries. Again, that makes Phillips look a whole lot better.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni knew immediately what he had in Phillips after last year’s trade, according to NBC Sports.
“He loves football,” Sirianni said. He loves working. You can just see the way he was running around at practice, his motor is constantly, constantly running, just pushing to get better. It was a really big impact that he made tonight for his first game as an Eagle.”
