USAT: Panthers Wire audio clip

USAT: Panthers Wire

Jan 27, 2022

When their rebuild started in early 2020, the Carolina Panthers were frighteningly thin at cornerback. Like, frighteningly thin. - And although an impressive two years of work will keep them from devolving back into those bare bones—which featured just Donte Jackson, Corn Elder, Cole Luke and Dominique Hatfield on the depth chart at one point—the secondary could take quite the hit or two this offseason. - In their recently released 2022 free agent rankings, Pro Football Focus has tabbed two of Carolina’s best corners amongst the premier targets of the position group. Coming in right near the top at No. 2 is Stephon Gilmore. - “After the contentious standoff between the New England Patriots and star cornerback Stephon Gilmore ultimately culminated in his placement on the physically unable to perform list to start the season, Gilmore was unceremoniously traded to the Panthers for a 2023 sixth-round pick,” PFF notes. “While the late future draft pick isn’t a substantial sunk cost that puts pressure on the Panthers to get an extension with the Carolina-native, they are paying Gilmore around $6 million for the remainder of the 2021 season. A player-friendly structure on a modest, short-term deal makes sense for both parties, and Gilmore can help Panthers No. 8 overall pick Jaycee Horn develop into the lockdown player Carolina foresaw when drafting him.” - That short-term deal, according to their projection, could land at around two years for about $14 million per season. Gilmore’s invaluable veteran presence, along with a very good 2021 showing that earned him the 11th-best grade at the spot (77.1), could be worth that price. - If it is, that could spell the end of Carolina’s run with Jackson, who came in at No. 8. - “The Carolina Panthers used the No. 8 overall pick on South Carolina standout Jaycee Horn and then traded for two cornerbacks in Jacksonville Jaguars 2020 No. 9 overall pick CJ Henderson and Stephon Gilmore this season, but they remain steadfast that this doesn’t say anything about their plans for Donte Jackson. It would appear he will at least have a chance to test the open market as Carolina prioritizes signing Gilmore to an extension to mentor their young collection of cornerbacks.” - The 2018 second-round selection has grown into his own for the Panthers. Jackson, 26, is projected to land a pact in the two-year, $10 million range. - But with fairly limited cap space and a plethora of needs on offense, the team may have room for just one of these two defenders. Luckily, Carolina does have a few nice fallback options in Horn, Keith Taylor Jr. and A.J. Bouye if the band is not put back together for 2022. - - RelatedPanthers' Haason Reddick amongst PFF's top free agent edge defenders - - RelatedPanthers CB Stephon Gilmore on season's final stretch: 'I'ma just enjoy it' - - List - - What we learned from Panthers' 2021 exit interviews - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Panthers Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Panthers Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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