The Carolina Panthers have a new head coach in Frank Reich and some cap space to make plenty of noise in the offseason.
Carolina’s first order of business is to find a new starting quarterback. They gave up on Baker Mayfield early in the season and will likely move on from Sam Darnold, who couldn’t find any consistency with his new team.
Carolina (7-10) finished just one game out of first in the NFC South. The division went to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who squeaked out an 8-9 record.
Without a doubt, the Panthers need to bolster their offense if they’re to make a run at the division. Adding a new superstar running back to replace the departed Christian McCaffrey would go a long way in improving the unit.
At YardBarker, Seth Trachtman wrote 25 bold predictions for the upcoming offseason. One of those predictions? Carolina winning the Josh Jacobs sweepstakes:
“While D’Onta Freeman did an excellent job for the Panthers after Christian McCaffrey was traded, he’s a free agent without a proven track record as a starter. Jacobs is coming off a Pro Bowl season in Vegas and has proven he can handle the workload. Frank Reich will likely want to establish a strong running game, as he had for most of his tenure in Indianapolis, to take pressure off a young offensive line.”
The Las Vegas Raiders curiously declined the fifth-year option on Jacobs’ rookie contract. He responded by rushing for a league-leading 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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Jacobs has crossed 1,000 rushing yards in three of his four NFL seasons (he had 872 in 15 games in 2021). The Panthers certainly have the cap space to land Jacobs, but of course, they won’t be the only ones interested in the former Alabama star if he hits free agency.
