Fans think the defense should be built from the inside out
With the start of the 2025 NFL Free Agency period only days away, we asked y’all where you think the Carolina Panthers will be spending their money this year. Expectations are that the Panthers will be relatively busy this year The team has two extremely cheap years left on Bryce Young’s rookie contract, so the feeling in the building is that the iron is hot and there is not time like the present to forge a team. That said, Dan Morgan and Brandt Tilis have their work cut out for them and the overwhelming majority of Panthers fans apparently think that work will start in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball.
That is 76% of y’all who think that money will be invested first and foremost on the interior defensive line or edge, with 92% of y’all thinking the money will be spent on the front seven for the defense.
The bulk of the top-ten lists for defensive tackle are a mix of young, rotational stars and guys over 30 who, hopefully, still have it. The same is true for the edge rushers. The Panthers can find clear upgrades with almost any player on any of these lists, but they are not likely to find long-term solutions outside of the draft this year.
Still, the team has about $30M to spend at the moment and they could probably make another $10-15M in space with creative accounting on some of their current contracts. Something is going to happen to the Panthers defense and it’s going to start next week.