Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (9) warms up prior to a game Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

One Free Agent the Carolina Panthers Must Sign — No Excuses

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Mar 6, 2026 11:00 AM ET

The Carolina Panthers are going to sign a few free agents. We can't expect a ton of additions given the roster situation and the current salary cap constraints. However, they will bring in a few new faces to help fill out holes.

There will be others that the Panthers consider, but either don't win the bidding war or decide not to fully pursue. Milton Williams last year is a good example of how that can go. The point is, there will probably be a dozen or more free agents the Panthers look into.

There's one that is an unequivocal must-add. The Panthers may not have this player on their radar, but they really need to.

The Panthers must sign JuJu Smith-Schuster no matter what it takes

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers need a lot of things, and wide receiver probably isn't very high on the list. Edge, linebacker, tight end, safety, and center are all higher, and then we start getting into depth territory for the other positions.

Ultimately, a WR3 or WR4 is not the most pressing need, but the most pressing addition the Panthers need to make is a WR3: JuJu Smith-Schuster. There are quite a few reasons why. I went into greater detail here about Smith-Schuster.

To sum it up, he's the ideal archetype for the Panthers. They have big and tall receivers in Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan, both of whom reach 6'3" or higher. Xavier Legette, should he remain on the roster, is 6'3" as well.

Smith-Schuster is 6'1". He also does things no Panthers pass-catcher does: create YAC and separation. Basically, he gets open really well and then utilizes the open space. The Panthers do not have a wide receiver who does either of those things at a high level.

Smith-Schuster is also very cost-efficient. The Panthers do not have much money. They will free up space doing restructures, releases, and more, but they currently have a little over $10 million in space.

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver is not going to break the bank. Spotrac projects a $2.1 million salary, something the Panthers could easily swallow.

This would allow them to move on from Legette, but even if they keep him, it gives them a viable top three that isn't all the same sort of player. Having big receivers is good, but not if that's all a team has.

Getting someone who separates and can run after the catch is important, and Smith-Schuster is the best example of both (perhaps even better than Deebo Samuel, a similar archetype) without a premium cost.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: