Cade Mays free agency could reshape Panthers plans after an unexpected comeback
Carolina’s interior line could look different as cade mays is slated to hit free agency this week after starting 12 games at center for the Panthers last season. For teams searching for help at center, his late-season surge in Carolina has put him in position to command a significantly larger deal than expected.
Cade Mays and a sudden shift from practice squads to big-money talks
After an uneven start to his NFL career, cade mays finished in a role that typically drives market value: a starting center with a full season of snaps. The former Tennessee offensive lineman started eight games for the Panthers in 2024, then started 12 games at center for Carolina this past season, a run that set up his first major trip to the open market.
That trajectory looked unlikely earlier in the 2024 calendar. Mays was released by the Panthers ahead of the 2024 season, briefly joined the New York Giants’ practice squad, and then returned to Carolina in the middle of the 2024 season. He had started in seven games over his first two NFL seasons before that turnaround accelerated.
Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano put a dollar figure on the center market
NFL executives recently labeled Mays a “sleeper free agent, ” and a projection from ’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano suggested he could be in line for a deal paying him $8 million annually, with the center market described as thin. A deal at that level would place him among the top 10 paid centers in the league.
The outlook could climb further if multiple teams compete for his services. The same discussion around his value left room for the possibility that a bidding war could push his annual earnings to around $10 million, a stark contrast to his recent time moving between rosters and practice squads.
Dan Morgan faces an offensive line puzzle after Ikem Ekwonu injury
Carolina’s front office also enters the offseason with a pressing tackle issue after starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in the team’s wild-card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The injury could sideline Ekwonu for most, if not all, of the next campaign, after the Panthers had been expected to pursue a lucrative contract extension with him this offseason.
General manager Dan Morgan has options on the table, including a path outlined by Joe Person that would pair a highly drafted tackle with a return of veteran free agent Yosh Nijman. Person described Nijman, listed at 6-7 and 314 pounds, as a powerful run blocker who is not as consistent in pass protection, framing the approach as a short- and long-term solution while Ekwonu recovers.
The immediate stakes for Carolina’s line will sharpen as free agency opens and Mays’ negotiations clarify his next destination. If Mays signs quickly and Ekwonu’s recovery timetable holds, the Panthers’ next defining move would be whether Morgan follows the tackle plan built around a high-end draft pick and a potential reunion with Nijman.
