Carolina Panthers 2025 Free Agent End of Season Grades

Carolina Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan made several big free agent signings during the 2025 offseason, with the biggest contracts going to the defensive side of the ball. Let's take a look at how some of the top signings from other teams panned out this season for head coach Dave Canales.

Safety Tre’Von Moehrig (three years, $51 million): Moehrig was as advertised – physical in the run game, someone that can play up towards the line of scrimmage in sub-packages for underneath coverage, and be used to blitz the quarterback. Moehrig finished third on the team in total tackles with 103, first in solo tackles (65), first in tackles for loss (14), fourth on the team in QB hits (7), tied for third in sacks (3.0), and an interception to go with two pass breakups. While deep coverage is not his forte, his underneath zone coverage fits the defensive scheme under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, and there’s room for Moehrig to improve in the passing game. But the Panthers signed him to help out the run defense and he did exactly that. GRADE: A-

Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (three years, $54 million): Wharton immediately became a starter on the defensive line after signing over from the Kansas City Chiefs, but dealt with a myriad of injuries that only allowed him to play in nine games during the regular season. He started the Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Rams but left the game with a hamstring injury. Wharton still finished with a pair of sacks, two tackles for loss, three QB hits, and 36 total tackles on the year despite missing close to half the season. A healthy season hopefully leads to him returning to his 2024 form with the Kansas City Chiefs where he finished with 6.5 sacks. GRADE: C

Linebacker Christian Rozeboom (one year, $2.5 million): Brought in initially to provide depth at linebacker and be a special teams contributor, Rozeboom was thrust into a starting role after the sudden release of LB Josey Jewell at the beginning of training camp as Jewell was still dealing with lingering concussion symptoms. Rozeboom started all 15 games he played in, leading the team in total tackles (122), third in solo tackles (59), tied for 2nd in TFLs (7), and added a force fumble, fumble recovery, and an interception. For a player that was supposed to be a depth player, this is tremendous return. GRADE: A

Running Back Rico Dowdle (one year, up to $6 million): Dowdle finished the year with the most yards from scrimmage on the team with 1,373 (1,076 rushing, 297 receiving), despite splitting carries for much of the season with running back Chuba Hubbard. Dowdle brought life into the Panthers offense in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins when the passing game was struggling and finishing that game with 206 yards rushing to go with 28 yards receiving. He followed it up the next week against the Dallas Cowboys with 239 yards from scrimmage. Two weeks after that, Dowdle ran the ball 25 times for 130 yards and two scores against the Green Bay Packers. The total yards from those three games (614) accounted for 44.7% of his yardage output on the season, with four of his seven total TDs also coming in those three contests. In those three games, he had 87 total touches, which was 31.6% of his total touches on the year (275). Dowdle did battle through various injuries on the year which impacted his output and usage as the season progressed. But for a player brought in to be the complimentary back to Hubbard, he was a shot of adrenaline to the offense in the early part of the season when it needed it most. GRADE: B+

The line didn’t just fall off a cliff trust me lil bro! You’ll see 😈🤞🏾 https://t.co/rrnuN5cBEg pic.twitter.com/cw1PoP7Xiz
— Rico Dowdle (@ricodowdle) January 12, 2026

Defensive tackle Bobby Brown III (three years, $21 million): Brought in as a rotational player on the defensive line, Brown III played in all 17 games to with five starts, finishing the season with 31 tackles, three TFLs, and half a sack to go with three QB hits. Brown III can play multiple spots on the defensive front, and provided much needed size on the interior of the defense (6-4, 332 lbs) that was missing in 2024. There’s still growth potential as a player for Brown III, who will turn 26 in early August. GRADE: B-

Outside Linebacker Pat Jones II (two years, $20 million): Jones started and played in the first four games of the season before suffering a back injury that required season-ending surgery. Jones not only played OLB, but showed versatility lining up as a interior lineman in sub-packages when Wharton was out due to injuries. Jones II was somewhat productive in his play, finishing with a sack, two QB hits, and nine tackles in his limited action. GRADE: C-, though INCOMPLETE feels more right

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