News Panthers Team Notes

[Carolina Panthers]

The Panthers final unsigned draft pick could potentially agree to his rookie contract very soon

Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images

We finally saw some movement on the remaining 30 unsigned second round picks from the 2025 NFL Draft on their contracts

After weeks/months of waiting for the Panthers (and 29 other NFL teams for that matter) to get their 2nd round picks from this April’s draft signed to their rookie contracts, it looks like a domino may have dropped tonight that could spur some movement on that front.

The next big domino in the second round has fallen: 49ers’ second-round pick Alfred Collins, the No. 43rd overall selection, reached agreement tonight on a four-year, $10.3 million deal that includes over $9 million guaranteed and now is expected to trigger multiple second-round… pic.twitter.com/iiIWgOCh7p

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2025​

For those that don’t know the backstory, I’ll provide a quick recap: as of the end of the 2025 NFL Draft, only 2 of the 32 players selected in the second round of the draft had signed their rookie contracts. If you are newer to the NFL Offseason, having that many draft picks unsigned going into training camp, especially all from one round, is not a normal thing. Typically, there’s a few niche situations where teams get wrapped up in negotiations with one of their draft picks with things like contract language and guaranteed money, but we have not seen a wide spread situation quite like this one since the implementation of the rookie wage scale in 2011.

Which, to give you a brief recap on that, essentially every rookie draft pick’s contract is subject to set guidelines based on what pick they were selected at, and what round that transpired in. They would then have a four year contract with a certain amount guaranteed all based on their draft pick. Sure, as I mentioned previously, there were individual situations where negotiations lasted a bit longer, but overall the general blueprint was the same. Then, this off-season happened. The Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns both gave their second round picks (WR Jayden Higgins and LB Carson Schwesinger, respectively) fully guaranteed contracts as the top two selections of the second round. This created quite the ripple effect, as fully guaranteed contracts for those players was not something that had happened in the past. For reference, Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks (46th overall selection in 2024) signed a contract with $6.2 million guaranteed out of a total $8.4 mil rookie contract, meaning approximately 74% of his rookie contract was guaranteed (contract figures via Spotrac). So while the overall dollar amounts aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things, 100% guaranteed is still significantly more than 74%.

So, prior to tonight we’ve seen the remaining 2nd round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft going unsigned as we inch closer to NFL training camp’s soft deadline. That all might have changed with this development, as the 49ers jumped the guaranteed money to at least 87% of the total contract numbers, as reported by Schefter. You may have seen me hanging out in the comments earlier, but it seemed all but expected that the teams would have to find some kind of middle ground in order to get these players to sign without seeing significant delays to their training camp schedule. It appears the first domino may have fallen, as this agent and franchise came to an amicable agreement in this particular situation and settled on a middle ground. But this should also set a baseline for the remaining 29 teams to come to a resolution.

Hopefully, this means EDGE Nic Scourton signs soon, possibly as early as tomorrow. What are your thoughts on this development, Panthers fans?

Source: https://www.catscratchreader.com/20...signed-to-his-contract-very-soon-nic-scourton

 

[Carolina Panthers]

Jaycee Horn in the only Panther ranked top ten in his position

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Panthers had a couple of honorable mentions, but Jaycee Horn was the only one to make top ten on a ranking by coaches and executives.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler surveyed NFL coaches, executives, and scouts and asked them to rank their top ten at each position group. The Carolina Panthers predictably had very little representation, but they did have one player that made the top ten: cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Horn came in at seventh behind Patrick Surtain II, Derek Stingley Jr, Denzel Ward, Trent McDuffie, Sauce Gardner, and Christian Gonzalez.

Pretty much all of the comment snippets about Horn touch on his physicality both as a press corner and as an uncharacteristically strong run stopper for a cornerback. His healthy has been the biggest limiter to his career so far. A second consecutive healthy season could see him climb that list.

No other Panther made the top ten, but a couple made honorable mention. Robert Hunt was the first honorable mention among interior offensive linemen thanks in large part to his dominant run blocking. Derrick Brown was the second defensive tackle listed in honorable mention, but he’ll surely climb that list with a healthy 2025 campaign. Chuba Hubbard received at least one vote for running back but wasn’t able to crack the top 10 or honorable mention.

Source: https://www.catscratchreader.com/20...rolina-panther-ranked-top-ten-in-his-position

 

[Carolina Panthers]

2025 Season Opener Countdown: 52 Days to Go

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

We’re counting down the days until the Panthers open up the 2025 season!

In this series, we’ll be counting down until opening kickoff by running through the Panthers roster by jersey number. Today’s piece looks at the current and historical players to have ever donned No. 52 for the Carolina Panthers.

Current Player: DJ Johnson​

Johnson (6’4”, 260 lbs) is a much maligned edge player that the Panthers traded up in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select. The former Miami Hurricane and Oregon Duck has played quite well against the run in his young NFL career. The main disappointment for most Panthers fans is the combined 0.5 sacks in two full seasons despite getting a decent number of snaps. Johnson’s time may be dwindling as he is already 26 years old and the Panthers just spent a bunch of money and draft capital on defensive line and edge rusher. He’ll likely have to take a big step forward from a pass rushing point to cement a spot on the roster at this point.

Notable Previous Players to Wear Number 52: Jon Beason, Chris Draft, Matt Elliott​

Beason was the middle player in a trio of dominant middle linebackers the Panthers used a first round pick on for almost 20 years. Current GM Dan Morgan’s injury history led to him going to the New Orleans Saints and eventually retiring in 2007, which is when the Panthers selected Beason. Beason then famously lost his middle linebacker spot to Luke Kuechly after injury problems of his own. Chris Draft wore the 52 for Carolina before Beason. Draft started his career being drafted by the Chicago Bears. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons before joining the Panthers. Draft was in Carolina for two seasons, including being a starter for the defense in 2006. Matt Elliott was the first player to don the 52 for the team, and his is an interesting story. He spent one season in Washington after being drafted in the 12th round in 1992 before being out of the league for three seasons. When the Panthers were created, Elliott was brought in and ended up being a starter on the offensive line in 1995 and 1996.

Source: https://www.catscratchreader.com/20...rs-2025-season-opener-countdown-52-days-to-go

 

[Carolina Panthers]

CSR Weekend Warriors: 7/18-7/20

Here’s a fresh weekend open thread just for you.

Feel free to use this thread to hang out over the weekend and chat about whatever you want (just make sure you follow the ToS ... the rules still apply here) with anyone who decides to stick around.

This is now an open thread!

Source: https://www.catscratchreader.com/2025/7/18/24469237/csr-weekend-warriors-7-18-7-20

 

[Carolina Panthers]

Brian Answers: Cam Newton vs Julius Peppers

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Welcome to another answers edition of this week’s mailbag!

Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! We were light on the questions this week, but they were diverse! As always, this is your place to ask your questions, whether they be Panthers related, football related, or even completely off topic! Bring your questions in the comments of next weeks part one post, Brian Asks, and you’ll see your questions answered. Much like the ones we have down below!

Carolinamaybenextyears: If you had to pick one player off of the current roster to represent the Keep Pounding motto, who would it be? For me, it’s Chuba Hubbard. The way he came here and improved year in and year out, I feel like he has earned everything he’s gotten so far. Tough as nails with a great work ethic.

I would say Chuba Hubbard is a fine answer. He’s truly developed from a 4th round pick who needed some shine to an actual RB1 in the NFL, and the Panthers rewarded his efforts both as an individual player and as a leader with an extension last season. He’s one of the few gems to come out of the Matt Rhule era.

Other candidates, well I’d say Bryce Young has certainly earned that stripe as well. He was thrown into a horrific situation for a rookie quarterback, and then his ghosts from his rookie season haunted him to start the 2024 year. He played so bad he got benched, and when the situation arose for him to resurface, he had a bounce back that reclaimed his career. Bryce Young had to deal with both the media, the fans, and even his own coaches showing wavering faith in him, but he worked hard, stayed consistent, and found a groove. He capped off the season with a career victory against the Falcons, and he’s continuing to put in the work every day.

Vashti2112: Another CB signs a record-setting deal (Sauce Gardner), pushing Horn’s deal down to 3rd. Obviously, more deals will get signed, more record-setting contracts, and Horn’s deal gets farther away from the top. Maybe not this year, but the next.

So how many deals need to be signed before Horn’s deal is considered ‘good’?

NFL contracts are always going to be an exercise of one-upping each other until the salary cap stops consistently rising, or the NFL fades. Hard to say how many deals it will take, but give it another full year and Jaycee Horn probably will be closer to top 10 paid Cbs rather than top 3.

positivebob: Does this team value the TE position and how do think it shakes out? They have 6 on the roster. I don’t know anything about Dafney-he is 28 or Pierre. Sanders is in, got some promise and only 22. Evans has a spot to lose. With Tremble hurt, and not that good when healthy, will they just keep 2? I think James Mitchell has a real shot. He had some bad luck with injuries in Detroit, played behind LaPorta, top 5 TE, and Wright, a guy the Lions really like. Lost out to Zylstra because Zylstra played fullback too, which the Lions value, and had more ST value. I also wonder how much the Panthers value ST players. Mitchell showed good hands when he got a chance, admittedly he didn’t get many, but Holmes drafted him and he’s a very good judge of football talent. Still just 25. I think Mitchell ends up TE3 and works awy up from there.

I think Ja’Tavion Sanders, Tommy Tremble, and Mitchell Evans are all locks to make this roster. They kept 3 TEs going into last season, and I don’t expect this year to be any different. The only real question mark is Evans, as Tremble signed a new deal that should keep him on the team this season. Evans was coming off an injury in 2024, so his performance was a bit hampered. But he does everything you want a tight end to do, so he should find a spot as a do-it-all piece. I don’t think any of the others on the roster will make it unless they really show out in the preseason.

TXPanther: Which group will cave first - the 2nd round players or the teams? And which team would you guess as most likely to cave?

A few players have since signed, mostly with slightly elevated guarantees on their contracts compared to years past with 2nd round picks. I think the two sides are finding common ground now that training camp is just around the corner, but we’ll see if Nic Scourton signs. As of this writing, he hasn’t.

@WTMealey: 22 prime Cam Newton clones vs 22 prime Julius Pepper clones in a game of football where they have to play all positions.

Who wins and why?

I love Cam Newton to death, but between blocking 4-5 Julius Peppers on a passing play, trying to run any kind of perimeter toss, or even kicking a field goal, 11 Peppers on defense are going to win. And I think 11 Peppers on offense would just out-physical Cam Newton. Remember, this is the same man that gave Saquon Barkley his “welcome to the NFL” moment by dragging him down with one arm. My money is on 22 prime Julius Peppers, even if they can’t throw the ball as well.

Bruce Guild: Is cauliflower pizza truly pizza or a baked vegetable pie?

I think its a pizza, regardless of the crust. Little Cauli’s.

That’s all folks! Join us next week for another round of questions. And KEEP POUNDING!

Source: https://www.catscratchreader.com/2025/7/18/24469696/brian-answers-cam-newton-vs-julius-peppers