Well, maybe the Carolina Panthers can take another crack at signing another running back this offseason.
Pro Football Focus salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger recently identified his best potential landing spots for this year’s top free-agent running backs. When it comes to Los Angeles Chargers standout Austin Ekeler, who is ranked as PFF’s 56th-best free agent in the NFL, Spielberger believes there could be a fit in Charlotte.
He writes:
Carolina already has a one-two punch at running back in Chuba Hubbard and 2023 free agent addition Miles Sanders, who was effectively phased out of the offense and continued to have drops at inopportune moments. Sanders’ 2024 compensation is fully guaranteed, so it’s entirely reasonable to expect the Panthers won’t spend the limited resources they have at running back again. However, this would represent getting Bryce Young his Jahmyr Gibbs equivalent from his college days — a reliable check-down outlet who can take a ton of pressure off Young.
As Spielberger notes, the 2023 campaign wasn’t exactly a fantastic one for last spring’s big signing. Sanders hit career-lows in starts (five), attempts (129) and rushing yards (432) while averaging 3.3 yards per carry—the third-lowest in the NFL amongst all qualifying players.
Heck, Ekeler wasn’t in peak form either. He averaged a career-low 3.5 yards an attempt while scoring just six touchdowns—a steep decline from his 18 scores in 2022 and 20 in 2021.
But could the Panthers ignite their offense by taking a relatively cheap gamble on a proven pass-catching threat?
