How Panthers GM Dan Morgan improved team weakness
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Aware of the roster's offseason needs, Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan went out and acquired the type of help they needed.
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After placing last in the NFL with a 26.2 percent quarterback pressure rate, Morgan signed two top pass-rush free agents, edge Jaelan Phillips and inside linebacker Devin Lloyd, after spending top 2025 draft capital on edge prospects Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen to address a continuing team weakness.
With just 30 sacks in 2025, the Panthers matched the Baltimore Ravens for the league's third-fewest.
Here are the number of sacks the Panthers have generated and their NFL ranking over the past four seasons:
Season, Sacks, Ranking
- 2025, 30, T-29
- 2024, 34, 29
- 2023, 27, 32
- 2022, 35, 25
Pro Football Focus provided the No. 31-ranked Panthers with a 60.4 in pass rushing grade. Only the Miami Dolphins produced a lower grade.
Panthers seek pass rush improvement in 2026
Morgan went to work, targeting Phillips and Lloyd.
Phillips ranked in the top 10 with 63 pressures last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Lloyd generated 16, while maintaining pass-coverage responsibilities within the Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive scheme. Scourton, a top breakout candidate, tied defensive end Derrick Brown for the Panthers' lead with five sacks, while Umanmielen registered 1.5.
"I think Devin and Jaelan are two guys that we obviously held in high regard during free agency," Morgan said March 20. "When you look at both those guys physically, how big they are, how long they are, the effort that they play with, the way they prepare, they were definitely guys that we had our eyes on during free agency.
"Me being a former player and watching them on tape, they have everything that you want in terms of the motor, the effort, the instincts, the range that they play with. So, they were really good adds for us, and guys that we're really excited about, and they're really going to help our defense moving forward."
How much did Morgan improve the team's weakness?
The third-year executive can begin to answer that question when the Panthers report for training camp on July 22.