The Carolina Panthers spent big this offseason, and the biggest swing of all came on Jaelan Phillips.
Carolina was among the league’s most aggressive teams in free agency, ranking fifth in the NFL in money spent. A large piece of that spending went to Phillips, widely viewed as the best edge rusher available.
He played the 2025 season with both the Dolphins and Eagles, and the expectation around the league was that Philadelphia would bring him back after acquiring him at midseason. Instead, the Panthers stepped in with an offer he couldn’t turn down.
The move drew attention right away. It also brought plenty of questions.
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame included Carolina in his road map to Super Bowl 61 and laid out both the appeal and the concern with the Panthers’ offseason. The Phillips deal landed squarely in his “why this signing won’t work” section, with the price tag standing out at four years and $120 million.
Verderame pointed to two obvious red flags: Phillips has never reached 10 sacks in a season, and his injury history is extensive. That history goes back to college, when he once had to medically retire because of concussions. In the NFL, he has also dealt with an Achilles tear and an ACL tear.
Still, the Panthers weren’t shopping for a perfect player. They were shopping for help, and they needed it badly.
Carolina finished last in pressure rate and total pressures last season, and it ranked 30th in sacks. A defense can’t sit at the bottom of the league in those categories and expect to stay the same.
That’s why the gamble makes sense, even if the number feels steep. Phillips is clearly talented, and he did play all 17 games last season, which at least offered a reassuring sign after the injuries. The Panthers were also the worst pass rush in football, so standing pat wasn’t really an option.
Even with the questions attached to the contract, Carolina had to make a move. The defense was bad up front, but not broken everywhere else. The Panthers finished last season with a middle-of-the-pack defense overall, which suggests the roster already had enough pieces to support a real jump if the front seven could generate more heat.
With Phillips now in the fold, along with the Devin Lloyd signing, Carolina’s defense has a chance to look a lot different. There’s talent on every level, with Derrick Brown and potentially Phillips up front, Lloyd in the middle, and Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn at corner.
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