The Carolina Panthers may be one of the NFL's youngest franchises, but that doesn't mean they haven't had their fair share of free agency misses. Here are the team's five worst offseason signings since 1995.
5. Keyshawn Johnson, 2006
Giving a wide receiver a four-year $14 million contract with $5 million guaranteed isn't bad on the surface, even if Johnson was heading into his age 34 season at the time. Johnson never lived up to his first overall status, but he was a solid NFL player for a decade. Over the two years prior to joining the Panthers, he played in all 32 games for the Dallas Cowboys, catching 141 passes for 1,820 yards and 12 touchdowns. With Carolina, he nabbed 70 passes for 815 yards and four scores. He was released following the season, and retired shortly after. Johnson tied up about as much of the salary cap as current players like Robert Woods and Corey Davis, and while the team probably didn't plan to move on from him so quickly, things certainly could have been much worse.
4. Matt Kalil
Kalil was drafted fourth overall in 2012 by the Minnesota Vikings and has never really performed to the level of a top-five pick. He was solid early on but after missing most of the 2016 season, Minnesota declined to re-sign him. Carolina gave Kalil a five-year deal worth $55 million, including $31 million guaranteed, and got one average season out of him before cutting him following the 2018 campaign, which he missed with a knee injury. Offensive line talent is always in high demand in the NFL, so it's hard to blame the Panthers for going after a former high pick, even if things didn't work out well.
3. Jake Delhomme
Ironically, Delhomme is also one of, if not the best free agent signings in team history. He went undrafted in 1997, but after stints with the New Orleans Saints practice squads and trips to and from NFL Europe, Delhomme first started for the Panthers in 2003, and nearly led Carolina to a Super Bowl victory. He would provide three more years of solid play before injuries began to take their toll. Delhomme was given a six-year deal worth $38 million in 2004, which ended up being quite a bargain. Prior to the 2009 campaign, he signed another six-year contract worth nearly $49 million, with $20 million guaranteed. Unfortunately, this was after he threw 15 touchdowns to 12 interceptions during the regular season, and exited the playoffs by throwing five picks and losing a fumble against the Arizona Cardinals.
Delhomme went 4-7 as a starter in 2009, throwing just eight touchdowns compared to 18 interceptions, and was released by the Panthers. He spent time with Cleveland and Houston before retiring in 2012.
2. Chuck Smith
Smith was a second-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 1992, and collected 58.5 sacks over eight seasons. Prior to the 2000 campaign, Smith signed with Carolina for $21 million over five years, a contract comparable to Kyle Van Noy's new deal with the Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately, Smith played just two games for the Panthers due to knee injuries. At the time of the signing, Smith was coming off a season with 10 sacks. He had missed just five games over the course of his career, none since 1996. It's a shame the Smith signing is looked upon as a disaster now, because it wasn't due to how Smith performed. Had he been able to stay healthy, it's unlikely he would've been a great pass-rusher; he turned 31 during his first season with the Panthers. Yet, he would have been at worst a solid player. It's always difficult to see players deal with injuries.
1. Sean Gilbert
The Gilbert situation has multiple levels of extreme intrigue. He was a very good player for the Rams and Washington Redskins for five seasons, before sitting out the 1997 campaign instead of signing the franchise tag, which would have paid him $3.4 million. Washington did the same thing in 1998, but this time offered Gilbert a one-year deal worth $2.97 million. The Panthers gave Gilbert an offer sheet worth $46.5 million. Washington declined to match, and received two first-round picks in compensation. That's a ridiculously high price. Not only did Carolina part with two first-round picks, which is practically unheard of today except for the right to draft a quarterback, but they allocated 12.68% of the 1998 salary cap to Gilbert. If a team did that today, they'd be paying $23.86 million to a DT. Aaron Donald, on his way to being the greatest pass-rushing DT in NFL history, makes an average of $22.5 million. Gilbert did play five solid seasons in Carolina, but certainly did not end up being worth his cost.
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