ESPN: Panthers want to pay Jaycee Horn before 2 other elite NFL corners get new deals

The Panthers’ defense was a disaster in 2024. However, the team wants to maintain some continuity on this side of the ball, and lock up a Pro Bowl performer

Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) during NFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Despite giving up the most touchdown passes in the league in 2024, it appears that the Carolina Panthers are content with keeping their starting cornerback duo intact. That means re-signing potential free agent Mike Jackson, who the team acquired last August from the Seattle Seahawks.

Perhaps more significantly, the team is looking to secure a long-term deal with a defender coming off his best season while earning his first Pro Bowl invitation. Four-year pro Jaycee Horn was not only the first cornerback drafted in 2021, but he was the first defensive player selected in that draft.

He came into his own this past season despite Carolina’s horrific defensive performance. Horn played and started a personal-best 15 games. He finished fifth on the team with 68 tackles. Horn also totaled a pair of sacks, one interception, and ranked second on the club with 13 passes defensed.

Dec 15, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) runs on to the field before the game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

As of now, the former University of South Carolina standout is set to play for $12.472 million (via Spotrac), his fifth-year option. That may not wind up being the case, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “(The Panthers) want to complete an extension with star corner Jaycee Horn sooner rather than later. That market is due for an explosion, with looming deals for Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner. So, the Panthers are working to get ahead of that.”

The franchise is in decent shape salary-cap wise (via Spotrac), roughly $28.19 million under the number. Signing Horn to an extension could also reap another benefit. It could save the club more money (via Over the Cap), and perhaps enable the Panthers to re-up with Jackson before he hit the free-agent market in nine days.

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