The Panthers have released 35-year old QB Jake Delhomme.  Delhomme played in 11 games for the Panthers last season and he completed 178 of 321 passes (55.5%) for 2,015 yards with 8 TD passes and 18 INTs (59.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for 60 yards (3.5 ypc) last year.  Delhomme played in 91 games in his 7 years with the Panthers in which he completed 1,580 of 2,669 passes (59.2%) for 19,258 yards with 120 TD passes and 75 INTs (82.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 152 times for 260 yards (1.7 ypc) with 5 TD carries in his time with the Panthers.  Jake Delhomme will go down in Panthers’ history as the best QB they have ever had.  But, his play has fallen off so badly that the time to move on and replace him has come.  Matt Moore will likely be the new starting QB for the Panthers but I fully expect them to draft a QB in April to back him up and replace him if he’s not up to the task at hand.

The Panthers have released 32-year old DT Damione Lewis.  Lewis played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he made 41 tackles, had 4 tackles for a loss and he had 1/2 a sack.  Lewis played 3 years for the Panthers in which he appeared in 46 games making 113 tackles, forcing a fumble, defensing 6 passes and he had 7.5 sacks.  The Panthers want to get younger along the D-Line starting this season and that is the reason for this move.

The Panthers have signed 26-year old DT Ed Johnson.  Johnson played in 4 games for the Colts last season and he made 11 tackles including one tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 21 games in his NFL career and he has made 59 tackles, 1 sack and he has forced 1 fumble.  This was a good signing for the Panthers because Johnson is a solid player when healthy and focused.

26-year old DeAngelo Williams and 22-year old Jonathan Stewart give the Panthers the best tandem at RB in the NFL.  Williams played in 13 games for the Panthers last season and he carried the ball 216 times for 1,117 yards (5.2 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 29 passes for 252 yards (8.7 avg) last season.  He would have put up monster numbers if he didn’t have to miss the last three games of the season due to injury.  Williams has now played in 58 games in his four years with the Panthers and he has carried the ball 754 times for 3,850 yards (5.1 ypc) with 30 TD runs.  He has also caught 107 passes for 861 yards (8.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his time with the Panthers.  Williams is a tad older than Stewart is but he still is the faster back.

Jonathan Stewart is a masher in the running game at 5′10″, 235 pounds and he does his best work between the tackles.  Stewart played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he carried the ball 221 times for 1,133 yards (5.1 ypc) with 10 TD carries.  He also caught 18 passes for 139 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  Stewart would be the main man on about 25 other teams in the NFL but he has to share time with DeAngelo Williams in Carolina.  Stewart has now played in 32 games for the Panthers (2 years) and he has carried the ball 405 times for 1,969 yards (4.9 ypc) with 20 TD runs.  He has also caught 26 passes for 186 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career so far. 

The Panthers got some players with nice upsides last April.  It all started out with DE Everette Brown out of Florida State (2nd round, #43 overall).  Brown played in 15 games for the Panthers last season and he made 22 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, forced 2 fumbles, had 2.5 sacks and he defensed 2 passes.  The other 2nd round pick the Panthers made was safety Sherrod Martin out of Troy with the #59 overall pick.  Martin played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he made 23 tackles, forced 2 fumbles, defensed 4 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  RB/KR Mike Goodson was selected in the 4th round (#111 overall) by the Panthers out of Texas A&M.  He played in 8 games for the Panthers last season and he carried the ball 22 times for 49 yards (2.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg).  Goodson also returned 17 kickoffs for 352 yards (20.7 avg) last season for the Panthers.  Fullback Tony Fiammetta was picked in the 4th round (#128 overall) out of Syracuse.  He played in 10 games but he didn’t touch the ball as he was blocking a lot.  He also had 2 tackles as a rookie.  CB Captain Munnerlyn (7th round, #216 overall) out of South Carolina was a solid player for the Panthers last season.  He played in 15 games for the Panthers last season and he finished up with 44 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  He also returned 1 kickoff for 15 yards and 31 punts for 278 yards (9.0 avg).  Munnerlyn was quite a find for the Panthers.  DT Corvey Irvin was the 3rd round pick (#93 overall) out of Georgia but he spent his rookie season on I.R.  OT Duke Robinson was selected in the 5th round (#163 overall) out of Oklahoma last season and he didn’t get onto the field at all as a rookie.

GRADE FOR 2009:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B