It seems far from a shoo-in that safety Jevon Holland will be a member of the Miami Dolphins by the time the 2025 season rolls around. He will be on the open market as a free agent later in the month, and he’s hinted as of late that he’s excited to explore his options in free agency.
With the official start of NFL free agency less than two weeks away at this time, ESPN’s Dan Graziano has reported that the Carolina Panthers are expected to be a suitor for Holland in free agency.
“Expect the Panthers to be seeking big-name players in free agency,” Graziano wrote. “I think Carolina could be in on the top safeties — Jevon Holland, Camryn Bynum, etc. — and might be one of the teams willing to spend big to lure defensive tackle Milton Williams away from the Super Bowl champion [Philadelphia] Eagles. The Panthers will also look to add edge rush help, with Chase Young being one of the intriguing options there.”
If any team in the NFL needs to bolster its defensive unit before next season, it’s probably the Panthers. Carolina was nothing short of porous on the defensive side of the ball in the 2024 campaign.
The Panthers allowed far and away the most points per game in the league. Opponents scored 31.4 points per game against Carolina, and no other team gave up more than 27.5 on a game-to-game basis.
Carolina’s inability to string together stops last season was a big reason why it ended up in a tie for the worst record of any squad in the NFC South division. The Panthers won just five of their 17 games in the campaign.
Even if Holland is fresh off a down year in his fourth NFL season, it would make sense for Carolina to take a flier on him with the hope that he can return to the level of player he was earlier on in his career.
Holland was one of the best players at his position in the league not long ago. Across 17 starts as a sophomore in the 2022 campaign, he totaled 96 combined tackles, 77 solo tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Perhaps soon, the Panthers will sign Holland and add him to their defensive unit. That ultimately remains to be seen, though, as he could very well draw the interest of several teams once he hits free agency. Regardless of whether he re-signs with the Dolphins or joins another team, fans of Miami should have nothing but positive feelings for him.
