Despite Camp Battle, Panthers OT Rasheed Walker is Still a Great Signing

The defending NFC South champions wrapped up their mandatory minicamp last week. Up next for the Carolina Panthers is training camp, which begins sometime next month. Despite the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2015 this past season, head coach Dave Canales’s club had a few unsettled matters—particularly on the offensive line.

Adding T Rasheed Walker was a great move by the Panthers

Recently, the NFL minds at ESPN interviewed coaches, NFL scouts and executives in regards to their favorite moves around the league this offseason, and Jeremy Fowler summed up their findings.

One of those involved the Panthers, and general manager Dan Morgan’s signing of Green Bay Packers’ starting left tackle Rasheed Walker to an economical one-year deal. The team was looking for help at the position with Ikem Ekwonu on the mend after suffering a ruptured patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Rams.

Rasheed Walker joined the Panthers at a bargain price

“Carolina capitalized on a suppressed market by signing Walker to a one-year, $4 million contract that carries an additional $6 million in incentives,” explained Fowler, “a deal that shocked many around the league.

Fowler also quoted an AFC executive when it came to the surprising contract. “Nobody was paying him $20 million (a year) but no way I thought it would be that low. Capable tackles usually get way more than that. That’s a great deal for Carolina. I’m thinking many teams would have done that deal.”

The 249th overall pick in 2022 played in just one game during his first season in the league. He hasn’t missed a game since, and over the past three seasons made a combined 48 starts. Walker also started four postseason games for Matt LaFleur’s club over that span. He’s currently the No. 53 tackle on Pro Football Focus’ list, earning much higher grades for his pass protection than his run blocking.

Panthers used their first-round pick in April on offensive line help

Meanwhile, Morgan used the 19th overall pick in April’s draft on University of Georgia tackle Monroe Freeling. The highly-regarded prospect figures to press Walker in training camp, but it would still take a great summer from the 6’7 3/8”, 315-pound blocker to win the starting job.

Adding Walker on the cheap was yet another solid move by Morgan, who utilized a very similar strategy this summer when it came to addressing the team’s most pressing issues. The Panthers added former Saints’ center Luke Fortner this offseason via a one-year deal, and then used a fifth-round draft choice on Kansas State University pivot Sam Hecht.

Likewise at free safety as Morgan brought back starter Nick Scott, but used a second fifth-round pick on Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley.

Regardless of how the left tackle situation plays out in 2026, the addition of the proven Walker was a no-brainer. The fact that Morgan added him via the NFL’s version of the Dollar Tree makes the move a whole lot sweeter.

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