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Carolina has signed 15 players to futures contracts, and four of them are players to watch.
While many Carolina Panthers players who were on the active roster last season are already under contract for 2025, there’s a host of mostly fringe players who don’t have deals in place for the upcoming season. Players who weren’t on the active roster at the end of the season - mostly practice squad players and undrafted free agents - are eligible to sign something called a “futures contract” with the team.
Futures contracts are mutually beneficial to the team and to the players who choose to sign them.
From a team perspective, futures contracts allow front offices to lock up generally younger players who could show improvement over the offseason and benefit the team in the future. After signing a futures contract the player cannot negotiate, sign with, or be poached by another team. The players count against the team’s 90-man camp limit, but not the 53-man roster.
From a player compensation standpoint, they are usually paid the league minimum given their years of experience and these deals rarely include signing bonuses. But the money is often secondary for these players who are operating on the periphery of the NFL universe. What they’re really getting is a measure of security by being able to work out with the team during the offseason, strengthen relationships with teammates and coaches, and hopefully prepare themselves to make the 53-man roster the following season.
Futures contracts are usually a win-win.
Here’s the list of the players the Panthers have currently signed to futures contracts with an eye toward 2025. Asterisks denote players who played snaps for Carolina in 2024.
RB - Emani Bailey
WR - Dax Milne, T.J. Luther, Brycen Tremayne
TE - Jordan Matthews*, Dominique Dafney, James Mitchell
OL - Brandon Walton* (T), Ja’Tyre Carter (G), Andrew Raym* (C
DT - Jerrod Clark
LB - Thomas Incoom*, Kenny Dyson*, Carlos Basham
K - Matthew Wright
Thomas Incoom, Linebacker
After spending his 2023 rookie season with the Denver Broncos, Incoom joined the Panthers practice squad last year and eventually earned his way on the 53-man roster. He appeared in eight games for Carolina in 2024, playing 39 defensive snaps and 174 on special teams. He produced eight tackles and one tackle for loss in his limited action. The Panthers saw enough in the 26-year-old linebacker to bring him back in 2025 on a futures contract and let him compete for a more consistent spot on the defense.
Andrew Raym, Center
The former Oklahoma standout was signed by Carolina in 2024 as an undrafted rookie free agent. He somewhat surprisingly made the initial 53-man roster last year and played four special teams snaps in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Raym was then released three days later and signed to the Panthers practice squad where he spent the remainder of the season. With both Austin Corbitt and Brady Christensen entering...
