Dan Morgan signed six key free agents in 2024, and the results after one season are more than positive for a rebuilding Carolina Panthers team.
The Carolina Panthers hired Dan Morgan as president of football operations and general manager on January 22, 2024. Morgan is a Panthers “lifer” after spending his seven-year NFL career in Charlotte from 2001 through 2007 then spending years in the Panthers front office. Let’s take a look back on Morgan’s rookie season as GM. Last week we graded his trades. This week we’ll assess Morgan’s performance with roster construction via free agency during the 2024 free agency period.
Free agency signings
The Panthers front office signed a plethora of guys throughout 2024 so the focus here is to assess how much return they got on their most expensive signings. For this article I’m only focusing on the six players whose annual average salary exceeded $5 million per year. The grade of each signing will be relative to expectations based on their salary, so the higher the salary, the higher the expectations. A “C” grade means the player met expectations for their contract.
Robert Hunt, Guard
Contract: 5 years, $100 million ($20 million/year) with $63 million guaranteed
Stats: 16 games (16 starts), 67.7 PFF grade (37th of 135 guards)
Expectations are high for Hunt given his nine-figure deal. Hunt’s $20 million average annual salary currently ranks tied for third highest in the league among guards, trailing only Landon Dickerson ($21 million) and Chris Lindstrom ($20.5 million), both of whom are three-time Pro Bowlers. While Robert Hunt didn’t make the Pro Bowl for the Panthers, he still had a solid season. PFF ranked him No. 37 among guards and No. 26 as a run blocker for his position. He is exactly the type of punishing interior blocker the Panthers offense needs. Additionally, his $20 million annual salary will become more palatable over time as the market resets every year and the salary cap continues to increase.
Signing grade: B
Damien Lewis, Guard
Contract: 4 years, $53 million ($13.3 million/year) with $26.2 million guaranteed
Stats: 16 games (16 starts), 75.5 PFF grade (17th of 135 guards)
Lewis and Hunt teamed up as the Panthers new dynamic duo along the interior offensive line. Lewis’s deal looks particularly good for Carolina. The fifth-year pro had a borderline Pro Bowl season protecting Bryce Young and opening holes for Chuba Hubbard. His PFF grade of 75.5 ranked 17th of 135 guards. Meanwhile, his $13.3 million average annual salary ranks just 16th among tackles and will become even more valuable to the team over the next three years.
Signing grade: A-
A’Shawn Robinson, Defensive End
Contract: 3 years, $22.5 million ($7.5 million/year) with $10.3 million guaranteed
Stats: 16 games (16 starts), 80 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 8 TFLs, 9 pressures
While the Panthers defense was historically bad, Robinson’s 80 tackles ranked third on the team and his 5.5 sacks tied for the most by any Panthers player. Those are pretty solid stats for a 320-pound interior defensive end who also did his share of eating blocks throughout the season. He was just 29 years old this past season and has plenty of good football left, all on a relatively affordable contract.
Also, Dan Morgan was smart in how he structured this deal to give flexibility in 2025 and 2026. With just $10.3 million guaranteed on a three-year deal, if Carolina releases Robinson in 2025 the team will save $4.5 million against the cap. In 2026 the cap savings swell to $8.5 million if he’s released, so it’s a sweet deal over the next two seasons for the Panthers.
Signing grade: B+
Jadeveon Clowney, Outside Linebacker
Contract: 2 years, $20 million ($10 million/year) with $12 million guaranteed
Stats: 14 games (14 starts), 46 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 11 QB hits, 22 pressures
Even at 31 years old, the former No. 1 overall pick can still get it done. His 5.5 sacks tied for the most on the team while his 11 quarterback hits led the team. Clowney’s 22 pressures led the Panthers defense by a country mile with D.J. Wonnum coming in second with 12. Simply put, Jadeveon Clowney was hands down the Panthers best pass rusher. PFF liked his season as well as his 70.8 grade was the highest among all Carolina defensive players and ranked 47th of 211 edge rushers.
While his $20 million contract was for two years, this was really a one-year deal. Clowney’s 2024 cap hit was just $6 million, and his play well exceeded that cap number. In 2025 his cap hit jumps to $13.8 million and the Panthers could save $7.8 million against the cap if they release him. If Clowney returns in 2025, it likely won’t be on his current contract. If this deal turns out to be 1-year for a $6 million cap hit in the end, the Panthers got great value.
Signing grade: B
Josey Jewell, Linebacker
Contract: 3 years, $18.8 million ($6.3 million/year) with $10.1 million guaranteed
Stats: 12 games (12 starts), 97 tackles, 7 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, 7 passes defended
Were you as surprised as I was to realize that if Josey Jewell had played a full 17-game season he would have racked up 137 tackles and five sacks? Crazy, huh?
While PFF wasn’t a fan of Jewell’s performance in 2024 (his 56.5 grade ranked 136th of 189 linebackers), his stats were impressive in the 12 games in which he played. Now, Jewell never really did anything spectacular nor did dominate any games, but he consistently overperformed for a starter playing on a three-year deal with just $10.1 million guaranteed.
Signing grade: B
D.J. Wonnum, Outside Linebacker
Stats: 8 games (8 starts), 37 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 12 pressures
Contract: 2 years, $12.5 million ($6.3 million/year) with $1.3 million guaranteed
After a host of complications recovering from surgery before the season strated, D.J. Wonnum finally made his Panthers debut in Week 10 and played in the team’s final eight games. His stats were impressive in a relatively small eight-game sample size, especially since he was playing himself back into shape. His per-game production would have translated to a 17-game season of 79 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and 26 pressures – numbers that are eerily similar to Brian Burns’s stats in his first year with the New York Giants.
Wonnum’s two-year deal is a good one for the Panthers because only $1.2 million is guaranteed, driven primarily by his health issues. This means the Panthers can either have him play out the final season of his contract in 2025 on a very reasonable $8.4 million cap hit, or release him and clear $6.7 million in cap savings. With Wonnum being just 27 years old and now fully healthy, expect him back in 2025.
Signing grade: B+
Free agent summary
In the end, the two most important contracts were Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, and Dan Morgan absolutely nailed those two deals. Carolina’s two guard spots are locked up for the foreseeable future and that’s key to roster building around a young quarterback like Bryce Young.
These six free agents combined to start all 82 games in which they played. Each of them made positive contributions. None of them have difficult salary cap numbers in 2025 or beyond that could negatively impact the Panthers cap situation.
All six of these players are on multi-year deals, and each of them but Clowney should be back in 2025 on their current contracts (and Clowney could renegotiate to stay.) This means there are fewer roster holes to fill in the upcoming free agent cycle along with a core of returning veterans in 2025 who know the Panthers system.
Overall, Dan Morgan pretty much nailed each of the key signings of his 2024 free agent class. His final grade won’t be the roll-up of the individual grades of the six free agents, but rather it will be a reflection of the fact that collectively he went a perfect six-for-six with his most important signings.
Well done, Mr. Morgan.
Overall free agency grade: A-