What the Signing of Miles Sanders Means for D'Onta Foreman's Future in Carolina

Wednesday evening, the Carolina Panthers agreed to a four-year, $25 million deal with free agent running back Miles Sanders.

Following the Eagles' decision to re-sign Boston Scott and add free agent Rashaad Penny, it became clear that Philly didn't see Sanders as a part of their future. Now, he gets to reunite with his former running backs coach, Duce Staley in Carolina. The two spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons together, the first two years of Sanders' career before Staley left to join Dan Campbell's staff in Detroit in 2021.

The move to sign Sanders makes you wonder about the future of D'Onta Foreman, who rushed for 914 yards and five scores for the Panthers last season. Is he still a part of their future plans? Or will they rock with a Sanders, Chuba Hubbard combination in the backfield?

I believe Carolina will consider bringing Foreman back at the right price, but doing so gets tricky all of a sudden. You don't want to find yourself paying two running backs RB1 money. From the very beginning, Foreman made it known that money isn't something he's worried about but he does want to get what he deserves. Plus, he wouldn't be "the guy" and would instead take somewhat of a backseat as the No. 2 option out of the backfield.

"I've been blessed to be in this situation," Foreman said back in January. "It feels like home now. This has probably been the only time I've been in this situation where I was the starter and just the feeling of being 'the guy'. So of course I don't want to let that go. Of course, I want to be here. Of course, I want to continue to build on what we already started."

If the Panthers are Foreman are somehow able to agree on a deal, it would give Carolina arguably one of the best running back tandems in the NFL. Frank Reich, Scott Fitterer, and Duce Staley all spoke very highly of Foreman over the past month or so with Reich even mentioning his performance down the stretch during his introductory press conference. There's no doubt the interest is there, it's just a matter if the money works out and if it's something Foreman wants to sign up for knowing he won't be "the guy".

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