Popular post-draft free agent dream is officially dead for the Panthers - what Carolina does from here might not excite fans

Even before the draft, Njoku was a top free agent target fans wanted to see Morgan bring to Carolina. He would have been an immediate upgrade to the room and seeing the final price tag he landed on the market likely makes Carolina fans sick to see this morning.

What would make fans even more upset about the outlook of the tight end position is what Morgan had to say following the draft.

Carolina Panthers don’t seem to be interested in adding to the TE room

“We have a lot of confidence in the guys that are on our roster,” Morgan explained. “I said that before [the draft]. . . We have some guys that we’re excited about. We’ll always look for avenues to make the roster better, if we feel like we need to figure out tight end and bring a different skillset in, then we’ll do that. But, right now, we feel good about it.”

With Njoku now off the market, those avenues are quickly drying up for the Panthers to find a real upgrade. Currently, the team’s tight end room consists of Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, Ja’Tavion Sanders, James Mitchell, Feleipe Franks, and Bryce Pierre.

Of that group, Evans brings the most upside. The 2025 undrafted free agent had 171 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie while playing 393 offensive snaps. Perhaps he’s one the staff would like to see continue developing before bringing an outside face in that would limit the opportunities he could have.

If the Panthers get through OTAs and decide they need to bring in an external player, the top options are looking like Jonnu Smith, Zach Ertz, and Darren Waller. Not exactly the most exciting pool out there, so fans shouldn’t expect any move happening at this point.