The Carolina Panthers are signing defensive deal with Derrick Brown Jr. to a four-year, $96 million contract extension with $63.165 million assured, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Friday on X.
Brown was one of many few brilliant spots on a 2-15 Panthers group this previous season, setting an NFL document for tackles by a defensive lineman en path to his first Professional Bowl. His efficiency, mixed with the poor dealing with of former Panthers linebacker Brian Burns state of affairs, made this extension one thing new common supervisor Dan Morgan needed to get finished.
“[Brown’s] had a heck of a yr,” defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero instructed Panthers reporter Darin Gantt.
“He is been so disruptive. I do not suppose it is arguably — I feel he is been the perfect run defender within the NFL this yr,” Evero continued. “He is finished a heck of a job dashing the quarterback and creating pressures, the interception, the batted balls. There’s been a lot manufacturing. The management. He is been instrumental in every part that we have finished.”
Carolina has made savvy strikes in free company, headlined by the additions of guard Robert Hunt and linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum. As a result of the Panthers do not have a first-round decide on this yr’s draft, it was crucial for the group so as to add expertise through the free-agent market.
The Panthers have not made the NFL playoffs or had a profitable season since 2017, dropping at the very least 9 video games every season since. These strikes will not make Carolina anybody’s Tremendous Bowl sleeper decide, however they’ll assist them compete in a comparatively weak NFC South, gained final season by the 9-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That is not a really excessive bar, however after so many lean seasons within the five-year tenure of proprietor David Tepper, it is a welcome signal of progress for downtrodden Panthers followers.
