With the recent blockbuster trade between the Miami Dolphins sending CB Jalen Ramsey, TE Jonnu Smith, and a 2027 7th-round pick in exchange for the Pittsburgh Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 5th-round pick, the options for Carolina are quickly slowing bottoming out. The decision of Jalen Ramsey to pick Tomlin and Austin over Canales and Evero tells us a bit about the thought process – get another bite of the apple and secure the bag. Rumors are that Ramsey will be getting north of $25M a year, while also turning the secondary in Pittsburgh into a massive strength, giving the chance at a Super Bowl run now that Rodgers is there, something Carolina cannot offer.
Instead, Carolina looks at the NFL Free Agents list provided by SpoTrac, displaying secondary help such as Marcus Williams, James Bradberry, Justin Simmons, Kendall Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Mike Hinton, Rasul Douglas, Shaquill Griffin, and even C.J. Henderson. Based on the Previous AAV, or previous average annual value there are a few that are simply going to be priced out of Carolina’s pockets such as Marcus Williams and James Bradberry, but we instead will focus on the more realistic options for Carolina.
FS Justin Simmons
Free safety has continued to be a point of contention in the fanbase as well as internally as the team acquired SS Trevon Moehrig in free agency to a deal that many are now saying is bad for the team, and then drafting another SS in Lathan Ransom. Simmons can immediately step onto the team as the clear FS1 with a guarantee of the majority of snap counts given that the Evero system is heavily based on the two-deep safety shells such as Cover 2, Cover 4, and Cover 6 as its base. Another thought is that Simmons played under the Fangio defense in Denver from 2019 to 2021 where he earned All-Pro honors, something that Evero continues in Carolina. Simmons is not only #1 on my board, but at age 31 going on 32, he can mentor the young men we drafted in 2025 while also not being challenged at the position. The previous AAV has Simmons around $7.5 million, though the 31 year old might be able to squeeze a 2-3 year deal of around $15M guaranteed if he plays his cards right.
CB Stephon Gilmore
The older CB on this list, Gilmore has the chance to return to Carolina after his stent with the team in 2021, earning him a Pro Bowl nod during that time. Now he could return to finish his career close to home being born in Rock Hill, NC, playing for the Rock Hill HS, and eventually becoming a University of South Carolina Gamecock before heading to the NFL. Now as Gilmore ages he can be asked to cover the CB2-4 rather than trying to contend with the Jeffersons or Chases of the world. Gilmore has a previous AAV of around $7 million so the 2 year deal could be something like 2 years $8M guaranteed with a high end number like $10-12M with incentives.
CB C.J. Henderson
The almost 27 year old CB from Pittsburgh didn’t get any stats in 2024, and with 5 years of experience could make his return to Carolina under the guise of a cheaper deal. Previously Henderson spent 3 years with Carolina, playing over 1500 snaps across 3 years to rack up 2 INT, around 140 total tackles, and only 1 sack – making Henderson a cheaper long-term deal to be made for the young Carolina defense. Henderson is still young enough that he can contend with many WR3-4, so the addition of him in the CB room could be one that changes for the better. With a previous AAV of only $5.1M, Henderson at age 27 is one of the youngest available CBs on the market right now, and one that Carolina can snag up for an easy 3-4 year deal at well below market rate.
CB Shaquill Griffin
Griffin has a chance to reunite with Dave Canales as both were Seattle Seahawks, and the 30 year old Griffin is a fantastic veteran for the young core. Griffin put up consistent numbers across his time in Seattle, Jacksonville, Minnesota and even the 2023 stent with our Carolina Panthers. Griffin can come in now, learn the system along with many of the rookies and bridge this team to a place where we can consistently contend for the division. On top of being added to the team during a rebuilding year, this could be a time to break him off a smaller contract in hopes of longer-term mentoring towards the overall secondary. This previous AAV is under $4.5M, leaving meat on the bone for the young Carolina team to still make a move elsewhere.
FS Jordan Poyer
The now 34 year old Poyer is most likely going to be pushing to play for a contending team such as his previous spot, the Buffalo Bills. If not, Poyer could add more than a decade of experience at the position where he often played 90%+ snaps to go along with his 4 seasons of 100+ tackles, and 3 others where he ended at 93, 95 and 98. Poyers’ ball skills also has him constantly around the ball, though the last two years has left him empty handed in the INT department after coming off a 6 straight season stretch where he had at minimum 2+, and at his peak hitting the 5 INT mark. Poyer is at the end, so he wouldn’t be asked to do everything, though I think the DOG inside Poyer would have him try to be out there for 100% of the snaps. With a previous AAV of just $2M, I think the addition of Poyer is akin to a 7th round pick, pay it and just roll the dice – no way he lets it come up snake eyes!
Carolina may go the route of not only not getting another CB, but also no FS, favoring the idea of squeezing the field with 2 SS types in Ransom-Moehrig, and with the investment to the interior defensive line could help squeeze a few more wins. Carolina could be poised to finally fix the defense or could be back contending for worst in NFL history – either way, I think that any of these men above could change our situation immediately, though the development of some of the UDFA we got, should we wait to develop them?
#KeepPounding
