The 2025 offseason is officially underway now that Super Bowl 59 is in the books. The Philadelphia Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy and the other 31 teams in the league are looking to play catch up.
The Carolina Panthers are one of those teams and they wasted no time making an addition to their roster. Per Joe Person of The Athletic, Carolina is signing kicker Matthew Wright to a future/reserve contract. Eddy Pineiro is slated to hit free agency, so there will be a void at kicker.
The Panthers have signed veteran kicker Matthew Wright to a future/reserve deal. Wright kicked for three teams last season (SF, KC, TEN) and made 15 of 16 FGs with a long of 50 yards.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) February 11, 2025
Related: Eddy Pineiro will be a free agent next month.
Panthers News: Matthew Wright Signs With Panthers on Tuesday
Pineiro has been with the Panthers for the past three seasons (2022-2024). Over 49 career games with Carolina, he went 80-of-90 on field goal attempts (88.9%) and 80-of-87 on extra-point attempts (92%). Pineiro has also knocked through four game-winning kicks for Carolina.
With the uncertainty surrounding his future with the team, the Panthers decided to be proactive. Wright has been in the NFL since 2020. He's spent time with Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, and Tennessee Titans. He even spent some of the 2023 season with the Panthers.
This past season, Wright played with the 49ers, Chiefs, and Titans. Over five games with these teams, Wright went 15-of-16 (93.7%) on field goal attempts and a perfect 6-of-6 on extra point kicks.
The 28-year-old has shown that he can be a solid kicker in this league and took advantage of his opportunities in 2024.
While there's a chance that Carolina re-signs Pineiro or adds another kicker this offseason, it's clear they like what they've seen from Wright. There could be a kicking competition in training camp but Wright has the early advantage.
He gets the time to impress the coaching staff and potentially be the starter for Carolina in 2025.