The Carolina Panthers had an odd 2022 season, to say the least. The team started the season with expectations that it could win the division and make the NFL playoffs. Then the Panthers started 1-4, owner David Tepper fired head coach Matt Rhule and installed Steve Wilks as the interim head coach, the front office traded one of the best players in franchise history, Christian McCaffrey, and after all that, the team seemingly got better, finished the year 6-6, and barely missed winning the division and making the playoffs. Now, the Panthers' offseason is upon us, and Frank Reich is the new coach. Here’s what Reich needs to do in terms of strategy, Panthers free agents, and the draft to get Carolina back to the playoffs next season.
3. Install an offense that can move the ball
The Panthers' biggest problem last season was matriculating the ball down the field. The team was 29th in yards gained (5,206), and the offense produced 300 yards or more in just eight games this season. And in four games they failed to gain 210 yards or more.
Some of this was the quarterback play by the likes of Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, P.J. Walker, and Jacob Eason. But a lot of it was the offensive design initially put in place by college coach Matt Rhule.
Say what you want about Frank Reich, but the former NFL backup quarterback can design pro offenses that succeed in the league. He led a unit that won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, and he has a winning record (40-33-1) at the end of the day with the Indianapolis Colts.
The fix this Panthers offseason that the team may need the most is getting an NFL-caliber offensive system in place, and Reich is a coach who can do that … as long as he gets a solid quarterback in place (more on that below).
2. Get the salary cap under control by cutting vets like Shaq Thompson
For a team that finished in the lower half of the league record-wise, you’d think the Panthers would be in better shape as far as the salary cap goes. However, that’s not the case heading into the Panthers' offseason.
Carolina is 21st in the league in salary cap space with $-9,562,644 heading into the summer. That means the front office will have some tough decisions to make about Panthers free agents and players under contract who will soon become free agents.
General manager Scott Fitterer and his capologists need to get to work and start clearing cap room so they can re-sign Panthers free agents or bring in new players. That likely means looking into restructuring tackle Taylor Morton and wide receiver D.J. Moore.
It also could mean cutting Shaq Thompson. The linebacker had an excellent season, putting up a career-high 135 tackles. However, he will make $24.4 million next season, and with a dead cap number of just over $11 million, cutting him will save around $13.1 million.
Restructuring Morton, Moore, Donte Jackson, and Austin Corbett while cutting Thompson and Xavier Woods can take the Panthers from $9 million over the cap to $29 million under. Make those moves in the Panthers' offseason, and adding talent will get that much easier.
1. Trade up to No. 1 and draft a franchise QB
We’ve beat around the bush long enough talking about ways to fix the Panthers to make the 2023 NFL playoffs. The biggest thing Carolina needs to do is find a franchise quarterback for the future.
The issue is, the team is in an awkward position in the 2023 NFL Draft. With the ninth overall pick, if the team stands pat, they probably won’t get a shot at the first three quarterbacks to come off the board in 2023. That means the first QB they’d be able to draft is Anthony Richardson from Florida.
Richardson is not a bad pick, but he’s the least NFL-ready signal-caller of the bunch. Chances are, he won’t be ready to play at all in 2023, which means the team would also need to sign a veteran like Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo.
If the franchise wants to make a bold move to find its quarterback, the Panthers' offseason must include a trade-up in the draft.
The team could go up to Nos. 2 or 3 to guarantees they get one of C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, or Will Levis. However, if they’re going to trade up six spots, they mind as well trade up eight and get the seemingly available No. 1 pick from the Chicago Bears.
With No. 1, the Panthers can take whichever QB they love the most (let’s say Young in this scenario) and ride that signal-caller to the 2023 NFL playoffs.
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