Lions free agent may be low-cost answer to Panthers DT problem

Carolina has a lot of defensive needs and not a whole lot of cap space to meet them all.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 5: Levi Onwuzurike #91 of the Detroit Lions runs onto the field prior to an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on January 5, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. | (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

No team in the NFC has more roster holes to address than the Carolina Panthers right now. Realistically, it will take more than one offseason to fill them all, especially given the team's current salary cap situation. At the moment they have a little over $20 million in cap space, but just $15.3 million if you include the cost of signing draft picks.

That means as much as they might like to throw their best punch at solving each problematic position, they're going to have to go bargain hunting to address more than one of them. According to Bleacher Report, the Panthers should try to fill their need at defensive tackle by targeting Levi Onwuzurike of the Detroit Lions, who's about to become a free agent.

B/R on Panthers-Lions DT

"The Carolina Panthers should also have interest in Onwuzurike. Carolina lost star defensive tackle Derrick Brown to a meniscus injury early last season and finished the year ranked dead-last in both rushing yards and yards per carry allowed."

DETROIT,MICHIGAN-November 17: Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) is seen during the first half of an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Sunday, November 17, 2024 | (Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Onwuzurike (6-foot-3, 290 pounds) played his college ball at Washington, where he posted seven sacks and 17 tackles for a loss in 39 games.

From there, he was picked in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft by Detroit and has gone on to play 42 games so far at the NFL level, mostly as a backup. He earned his first 10 starts this past season. Onwuzurike earned respectable grades from PFF in 2024 for his run defense (64.1) and pass rushing (67.1) and got a career-high 69.4 overall grade.

Our best guess is that the Panthers will choose to address this spot in the draft, but if they can't get somebody like Michigan's Mason Graham or Kenneth Grant, then Onwuzurike might still be on the market after the draft.

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