Carolina Panthers to finally finish signing their 2025 NFL draft class

You can bet most NFL front offices aren't thrilled with the Houston Texans, who threw a serious wrench into their offseason by giving Jayden Higgins an unprecedented fully-guaranteed contract for a secon-round draft pick.

Naturally, the next selection in line (South Carolina DB Nick Emmanwori went to the Seattle Seahawks with the following pick) wanted a fully-guaranteed deal, too - along with a couple dozen other second-rounders.

The stalemate lasted for months, but was finally broken a few days ago when the Seahawks came to terms with Emmanwori. Since then a string of other second-rounders have also signed ahead of training camp, which begins ths week.

That includes the Carolina Panthers' second-round pick, former Texas A&M edge rusher Nic Scourton, who agreed to terms last night, according to Darin Gantt at the team website.

Nic Scourton comes to terms with Panthers

"The Carolina Panthers have agreed to terms with outside linebacker Nic Scourton to his four-year rookie contract on Saturday night. Scourton was the last remaining member of the Panthers' eight-man rookie class to sign his deal. League-wide, only the first two selections in the second round had signed contracts with their respective teams by the beginning of the week (Monday, July 15), but many have started filtering in as teams approach the start of camp..."

Scourton's stock took a big jump when the Panthers unexpectedly released Jadeveon Clowney back in early May. Clowney had been at the top of Carolina's depth chart on the edge, making room for Scourton and third-rounder Princely Umanmielen to both jump up a spot.

At least to start out though fans should probably not expect either to be in the starting lineup, even with Clowney out of the picture. Remember, DJ Wonnum finished the 2024 season very strong after missing much of the year due to a series of harrowing medical issues and will continue to start going forward. Former Minnesota Vikings veteran Patrick Jones II also joined the team in free agency and should project as the other starter.

Those two are the only real competition for Scourton and Umanmielen for playing time, though. With Clowney gone the Panthers need all the pass-rushing firepower they can get, but the sooner the rookies can break through to the top of the rotation, the better.

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