Panthers agree to contract with former Pro Bowl pass rusher to upgrade depth chart
The Panthers have finally landed a proven pass rusher to pair with Pro Bowl defender Brian Burns.
On Sunday, the team announced a contract agreement with veteran linebacker Justin Houston. The pass rusher agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $7 million with $6 million in guaranteed money, a league source confirmed to The Observer. ESPN was first to report the details of the agreement.
The former four-time Pro Bowl selection spent the past two seasons in Baltimore with the Ravens.
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Houston previously played for Panthers head coach Frank Reich in Indianapolis with the Colts from 2019 to 2020.
During his 12-year career, Houston has produced 506 tackles, 111.5 sacks and 19 forced fumbles. He had 9.5 sacks last season for the Ravens. Houston has had eight seasons of eight sacks or more, including a league-leading 22 sacks in 2014 for the Kansas City Chiefs, his original NFL franchise.
While he was forced to wait for a deal during training camp, Houston was one of the top remaining free agents left on the market.
Houston joins a room that also features Burns, third-round pick DJ Johnson, Marquis Haynes, Yetur Gross-Matos, Amare Barno, Kobe Jones and Eku Leota.
Houston is likely to compete with Haynes, who is sidelined with a back injury, for the top job opposite Burns. But Houston’s agreed-upon salary implies that he is the odds-on favorite to be in the starting lineup in Week 1. Johnson, Haynes, Gross-Matos and Barno have been seen as works-in-progress under the new staff. Jones and Leota have flashed during the summer but are still unproven as well.
The Panthers are converting to a 3-4 front, and Houston‘s experience in similar schemes could help the Panthers’ defense immediately. With defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero now in charge, the Panthers are converting several players into new roles. Having a player with scheme familiarity should lighten the learning curve entering the preseason.
The Panthers will need to make a corresponding move before officially adding Houston to the roster, as Carolina is currently at the 90-man limit. The Panthers won’t practice again until Tuesday, their final regular workout before hosting the New York Jets for a pair of joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
Those joint workouts will cap training camp at Wofford College and the squad will then take part in three preseason games, including a matchup on Saturday against the Jets.
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