Mid-season grades for the Carolina Panthers' 2025 free agent signings

Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan made several big offseason signings, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. After nine games, essentially the midpoint of the season, lets’ look at the major signings this offseason and how they’ve performed so far this season.

S Tre’Von Moehrig – Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales has preached the desire to play with physicality and violence on both sides of the ball, and that’s exactly what Moehrig has brought to the Panthers.

Moehrig gives Carolina a defensive back that can come up to the line of scrimmage and help in the run game, while also providing versatility in coverage on underneath routes, allowing Ejiro Evero to deploy rookie safety Lathan Ransom in sub packages. Moehrig can still struggle in man-to-man coverage situations, but he’s provided tremendous help to a rush defense that needed improvement on all three levels. Grade: B+

#Panthers safety Tre’Von Moehrig had a premonition at halftime that he was going to get an interception against the #Packers. It proved true — and helped yield him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Had he ever had such foresight before? Yes, he said. Fun story here. pic.twitter.com/0qylbNeYc8
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) November 5, 2025

DT Tershawn Wharton – Wharton has missed four games this season due to a multitude of injuries, but it still tied for third on the team with 2.0 sacks. A player that was brought in to help provide interior pass rush, Wharton has shown he can play alongside Derrick Brown on passing downs, though he can get caught in the wash on run downs. Grade: C+

DT Bobby Brown III – Added as a rotational piece for the defensive line while also providing positional versatility, Brown III has shown he is quite agile and quick for a player of his stature (6’4” 332 lbs.). He’s been limited in number of snaps as a substitute, but his role is important. Brown III provides much needed depth to the defensive line to allow Derrick Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, and Wharton to play a few less snaps per game, keeping those players fresh as the game progresses while also being an effective player. Grade: B-

LB Christian Rozeboom – Rozeboom leads the Panthers in tackles this season with 77 total (39 solo), while adding four tackles for loss, and forcing a key fumble in the first half in the Panthers’ 16-13 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.

Rozeboom struggled this season as the signal caller of the defense, but Canales and Evero decided to switch his role with second-year LB Trevin Walace, allowing Rozeboom to play more free to pursue the ball. Rozeboom was also thrust into the starting lineup at the beginning of training camp due to incumbent starter LB Josey Jewell dealing lingering concussion symptoms. Rozeboom has struggled in coverage, but the tenacity with which he plays is noticeable. Grade: B-

OLB Patrick Jones II – Jones II played in four of the first six games of the season, but is out the remainder of the season due to needing back surgery. Jones II showed an ability to be versatile in the lineup, sliding into the interior of the defense in pass rush situations when Wharton was out due to injury. Jones II had a big sack against the Miami Dolphins, but sadly his impact was extremely limited this season due to multiple injuries. Grade: C

WR Hunter Renfrow – Renfrow was a bit of a scratch-off ticket for head coach Dave Canales and GM Dan Morgan in the sense that the signing was very risk with potential high reward after Renfrow missed the 2024 season while dealing with ulcerative colitis.

Renfrow’s best game came in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals where he finished with two touchdown catches, and he did catch a crucial fourth down against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter on a game-winning drive. But Renfrow has been a healthy inactive in recent weeks, and barring injury, doesn’t look like he’ll be in the mix anytime soon. GRADE: C

RB Rico Dowdle – After beginning the year as a backup to Chuba Hubbard, Dowdle not only has proven to Canales that he’s the No. 1 back, but also has shown he’s one of the best RBs in the NFL this season. Dowdle is third in the NFL in total rushing yards (735), third in yards per carry (5.6), and third in yards per game (81.7).

When Dowdle has 10-plus carries in a game, the Panthers are 5-0. They’re 0-4 when he has less than 10 carries. For someone who was brought in to be a complimentary player, he’s been the engine to the offense in recent weeks. GRADE: A+

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