The Panthers have signed 26-year old RB Mike Tolbert to a 4-year contract.  Tolbert played in 15 games for the Chargers last year and he carried the ball 121 times for 490 yards (4.1 ypc) with 8 TD carries.  He also caught 54 passes for 433 yards (8.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  Tolbert has now played in 59 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 341 times for 1,410 yards (4.1 ypc) with 20 TD carries.  He has also caught 109 passes for 1,012 yards (9.3 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Tolbert will probably replace Jonathan Stewart, who is likely now on the trading block.

The Panthers have re-signed 29-year old LB Kenny Onatolu to a 3-year deal.  Onatolu played in all 16 games for the Panthers last year and he had 13 tackles.  Onatolu has now played in 48 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 43 tackles.  Onatolu will provide depth at linebacker for the Panthers while also helping out on special teams.

The Panthers have signed 25-year old safety Haruki Nakamura to a 3-year, $4.8 million dollar deal.  Nakamura played in 15 games for the Ravens last year and he had 12 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 56 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 52 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 3 passes defensed.  Nakamura will help the Panthers with secondary depth in 2012 and beyond.

The Panthers have released 26-year old DT DeMario Pressley.  Pressley played in 1 game for the Panthers last year and he had 5 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 8 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 20 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  This is not much of  a loss for the Panthers.

The Panthers have released 33-year old punter Jason Baker.  Baker played in all 16 games for the Panthers last year and he punted the ball 66 times for 2,819 yards (42.7 avg).  He also had 5 touchbacks (7.6%) and pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 19 times (28.8%).  Baker played in 112 games in his 7 years with the Panthers and he has punted the ball 570 times for 25,064 yards (44.0 avg).  He also had 42 touchbacks (7.4%) and pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 169 times (29.6%).  This move creates another hole the Panthers need to fill before next season starts.

The Panthers have re-signed 28-year old QB Derek Anderson to a 1-year deal.  Anderson played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Panthers but he didn’t throw any passes.  Anderson has now played in 53 games (43 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has completed 756 of 1,436 passes (52.6%) for 9,148 yards with 53 TD passes and 55 INTs (68.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 78 times for 203 yards (2.6 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Anderson is 18-25 (41.9%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  Anderson is locked in as the #2 QB as he has passed Jimmy Clausen up on the depth chart.

The Panthers have released 30-year old OG Travelle Wharton.  Wharton played in 16 games (all starts) for the Panthers last year.  He has now played in 99 games (all starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL.  This move saves the Panthers $4 million bucks in salary cap space, but they might have to use some of it to replace Wharton.

The Panthers have re-signed 25-year old FB/TE Richie Brockel and 23-year old CB R.J. Stanford.  Brockel played in 11 games for the Panthers last year in his first year in the NFL.  He carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 13 yards (4.3 avg) last year for the Panthers.  R.J. Stanford played in 12 games for the Panthers last year and he had 13 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  Brockel and Stanford both played well when they got the chance to play last year, so it was smart of the Panthers to bring them back for 2012.

The Panthers have signed 28-year old kicker Justin Medlock.  Medlock played in Canada last year and he nailed an amazing 49 of 55 (89.1%) field goals.  His only NFL experience came back in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs.  He played in 1 game for the Chiefs in 2007 and he was 1 of 2 (50%) on field goals for 3 points.  Medlock will take on Olindo Mare (providing he doesn’t get cut) for the starting kicker job in 2012.

The Panthers have re-signed 25-year old LB Jason Phillips to a 1-year deal.  Phillips played in 4 games for the Panthers last year and he had 4 tackles.  He has now played in 13 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 9 tackles.  This was a good move as the Panthers like what they saw out of Phillips last year.