Everyone knew heading into the 2019 offseason that securing help along both the offensive and defensive line would be paramount for the Panthers after they had issues protecting Cam Newton all season and eventually lost three separate quarterbacks to season-ending injury – while on the other side of the ball, their defense produced the second-fewest quarterback hits of any team in the NFL.
In the first week of free agency, they attempted to secure help on the offensive side of the ball as they added center Matt Paradis and re-signed Daryl Williams.
In the second week of free agency, they’ve begun to address the defensive side of the ball as the Panthers have signed veteran defensive end Bruce Irvin to a one-year deal, the team announced Tuesday.
This move would not necessarily preclude the Panthers from selecting an edge rusher with the 16th overall pick, although it alleviates the need to draft an pass rusher in the first round – it’s always better to draft the player you want rather than the position you need.
The 31-year old pass rusher who was the 15th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft spent four seasons in Seattle, with his best likely being the 2014 campaign where he had 43 tackles, 12 quarterback hits and two interceptions – both of which he returned for touchdowns. All told in Seattle, he racked up 22 sacks before signing a four-year, $37m deal with the Oakland Raiders, where he had 15 sacks over the course of two seasons.
With the introduction of Jon Gruden as the head of the Raiders franchise, Irvin clearly didn’t fit into Gruden’s plans and was unceremoniously released after the Raiders’ seventh straight loss as part of a slew of roster moves while the Raiders transitioned to a team in Gruden’s likeness during the 2018 season; Irvin signed with his hometown Atlanta Falcons and posted 3.5 sacks in the final four games of the season.
Irvin will likely play a role similar to Julius Peppers did last year, playing a limited number of snaps but attempting to make an impact on a pass rusher for the time he is on the field – Irvin produced a sack or QB hit on 8.3% of his pass-rush opportunities, which would be the ninth-best mark among the 174 players who had at least 200 pass-rush snaps during the 2018 season.
Irvin played between 35 and 50% of the snaps in the eight games he appeared in with the Falcons and was voted #85 in the latest iteration of the NFL’s annual Top 100 Players countdown.
Up Next: Why Irvin Will Fit In The Panthers And What Kind Of Defense They Might Run
