4 Impact Free Agents the Carolina Panthers Can Sign for Less than $5 Million

Expect the Panthers to do plenty of bargain-bin shopping.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle van Noy (53) hands an intercepted ball off to safety Alohi Gilman (12) who runs it back | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers do not have very much cap space this offseason. They will get creative with the free agent contracts they sign as well as the contracts on the books now to free up space, but there likely won't be that much money.

So the Devin Lloyds and Trey Hendricksons of the world are nice dreams for the Panthers, but they're not reality. The reality is that the Panthers will end up adding players to small contracts to fill out the roster. Here are some projected to sign for $5 million or less that the Panthers need.

JuJu Smith-Schuster

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster (9) celebrates during the fourth | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Until he signs with a team, we will not stop beating the drum for JuJu Smith-Schuster. He's the perfect wide receiver for this offense, providing a change of pace from Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan.

He separates better than any Panther and he has better YAC results than any Panther. Those are two things this offense badly needs, and Spotrac projects his next contract at $2.15 million. That's well within the price range.

Kenneth Murray

Kenneth Murray isn't a game-changing talent at linebacker, as evidenced by his presence on this list. But the Panthers have major needs in the middle of their defense, and he can hardly be worse than Christian Rozeboom.

This would give the Panthers a solid veteran linebacker who could be helpful for Trevin Wallace and the rookie they will inevitably draft. Spotrac projects his contract to be worth $4.92 million annually.

Alohi Gilman

The Panthers need a safety, and preferably, they will land one that's good in coverage. Tre'von Moehrig was great in run defense, but he graded out poorly in coverage. Lathan Ransom is a similar player to Moehrig, and Nick Scott is a free agent.

Enter Alohi Gilman, who does a little of both but would give the Panthers a decent center fielder to cover the back end of the defense. His salary projection sits at $4.14 million, which would be a nice price for a solid safety.

Spencer Burford

The Panthers may or may not draft a left tackle to replace Ikem Ekwonu. Whether they do or do not, they still need to get someone to play the position for the 2026 season, since they currently don't have one on the roster.

Spencer Burford is young enough to consider him a potential long-term replacement, but he could also be a fine stopgap while the Panthers look at other options at the position. He's projected to sign for $3.39 million.