Carolina Panthers: Team Brings Back Amini Silatolu For Depth
The Carolina Panthers brought back one of their own in a move to bolster the offensive line.
The Carolina Panthers began working their free agency project yesterday by adding some depth to the offensive line. That depth appears in the form of Amini Silatolu, who was once a second round pick with the Panthers before leaving the team in free agency last year. Now he returns and provides a dependable guard if he is healthy.
Silatolu tried to make the Chicago Bears roster last year, but ultimately did not. He therefore did not play at all, which may have been good for his knees. Those knees have been the trouble zone for Silatolu in his career.
The Panthers get a guy with some flexibility. The Panthers attempted to use Silatolu at right tackle as an emergency plan back in 2015. He also knows all the guys around him, having played with Cam Newton, Ryan Kalil, Andrew Norwell, and Trai Turner.
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Line depth became critical for the Panthers last year. It could be the single biggest reason that the team could not set a winning pattern and ended up with a 6-10 record at the end of the year.
Silatolu’s signing smacks of a Dave Gettleman production. He is getting some value cheaply on a ‘prove it’ kind of deal. This will allow him more money to play with to address other issues.
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The offensive line’s biggest issue remains the lack of a left tackle anchor. Michael Oher is making noises about making a comeback, but the Panthers need to make a move if that falls through. Mike Remmers could walk in free agency. The first round of the NFL Draft will likely not be where the Panthers make such a move. That leaves the free agent market.
David Newton of ESPN and others have pointed out Vikings tackle Matt Kalil as a possibility. There could still be cuts from other teams like the Dolphins’ Branden Albert that might attract the Panthers’ interest.