Carolina Panthers: Sign Jeremy Cash

The Carolina Panthers may have found a steal by signing the former Duke safety.

The Carolina Panthers added what could be an important piece yesterday when they signed Duke Blue Devils safety Jeremy Cash to an undrafted rookie deal. Cash was a surprising abstention from the weekend’s NFL Draft and therefore became one of the most coveted undrafted free agents.

While the Panthers draft was mostly about the cornerback position, the team was not exactly set at safety. After releasingRoman Harperin the off season, the team seemed ready to go with a combination of third year playerTre Bostonand the resurgentKurt Colemanas the starting defensive backfield. That would leaveColin Jonesand signee Trenton Robinson as the backup crew.

Adding Cash to that group seems like a forward thinking move. The Ohio State transfer spent a lot of his time at the rover position for Duke. That showed that he has good instincts for run stuffing. It is possible that Duke’s willingness to use him as a third linebacker may have opened up questions about some of his coverage skills.

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However Cash can hit and has no problem with contact, and there are NFL safeties who made careers on just that kind of formula. Cash’s acquisition is also a shot across the positional depth chart because no one other than Coleman can feel safe about their current status if Cash comes in blows the coaches away.

At the very least Cash could turn into a productive special teams player. The Panthers need those good coverage guys too if they want to return to the big stage this year.

Next: FBs TEs among Undrafted Free Agents

Behind the Cash signing is the open question as to whether Harper will return for one more season. He would like to but the Panthers seemed to have made moves with the idea that they won’t bring him back. Again, the leadership dropoff is the biggest concern for a defense that just shed Harper,Charles Tillman, andJared Allen.

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