Carolina Panthers Urged to Sign Former Browns Star as FA Winds Down

The Carolina Panthers spent a ton in free agency. They were much more active than anyone would've predicted before the legal tampering period. They signed Jaelan Phillips, Rasheed Walker, Devin Lloyd, and others.

They filled most of the holes on the roster, but a few remain. One of them, tight end, has been a hole for several years. They've tried to fill it, but the Panthers just haven't had a good tight end since Greg Olsen.

Fortunately, one is still available in free agency, and one NFL insider believes he'd be a good fit with the Panthers.

Panthers named best landing spot for Browns' FA David Njoku

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (85) walks off the field after the game | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Garrett Podell believes the Panthers are the perfect landing spot for ex-Browns free agent David Njoku. It's hard to disagree, given the need, the timing, and what Njoku does best.

Podell wrote, "David Njoku tumbled down the depth chart while battling through knee injuries for most of 2025. Rookie Harold Fannin Jr. quickly became a go-to guy for quarterback Shedeur Sanders."

The analyst continued, "If healthy, he's a valuable middle-of-the-field and red-zone playmaker. Turning 30 in 2026 and dealing with injuries should make him a more cost-conscious target than in years past."

That's the sort of thing the Panthers have been missing. The Panthers struggle in the red zone because they don't have a player like that. And they've had to use crossing routes for their two best outside targets to get action across the middle of the field.

Njoku does both things well, and the Panthers could sign him right now. Spotrac projected a $9.9 million salary, but that was at the beginning of free agency. The market's cooled way off, and he'd probably sign for much less than that.

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (85) warms up before the game | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Podell continued, "The Carolina Panthers make the most sense for Njoku: the defending NFC South champions need more of a receiving threat out of their tight end spot than Tommy Tremble has put on tape. He could really open up the middle of the field for quarterback Bryce Young."

Tremble, Ja'Tavion Sanders, and Mitchell Evans have all been almost nonfactors for the Panthers. Granted, Dave Canales' offenses have never really utilized the tight end, but in his defense, he really has rarely had good ones.

Njoku would be a good one, and he'd be a relatively cheap one. This would preclude them from drafting Kenyon Sadiq, but that might be for the best. It would allow them to really take the best player available at whatever position, be it WR, IDL, LB, EDGE, S, or anything else.