Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s replacement with the Panthers is agreed to on a one-year contract.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that the Carolina Panthers have reached an agreement to re-sign receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a single season. It will be his second season with Carolina and his fourth in the NFL.
In 2023, Smith-Marsette averaged 8.7 yards per return while playing punt return for the Panthers. Only eight players had ever returned a punt for a touchdown, and with 322 total return yards, he was sixth in the league. On offense, he also brought in eight receptions for 51 yards.
Prior to the Minnesota Vikings selecting him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Smith-Marsette was an Iowa college football player. He ended his rookie season with five receptions for 116 yards, including the only two touchdown catches of his career.
Before the 2022 season, the Vikings placed Smith-Marsette on waivers, whereupon the Chicago Bears claimed him. Before being waived once more and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad, he made six appearances in games. When the Chiefs overcame Philadelphia to win Super Bowl LVII and earn a ring, he was still a part of the squad.
After Diontae Johnson was acquired by the Panthers in a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ihmir Smith-Marsette is back. Adam Thielen and Jonathan Mingo, two of Carolina’s top three receivers from 2023, are also back.
In order to provide Bryce Young additional protection, the Panthers strengthened their offensive line, which allowed the second-most sacks in the NFL the previous season. After going just 2-15 last season, they will look to improve with these acquisitions along with returners like Smith-Marsett.
More about free agency and the NFL offseason in 2024
The NFL 2024 season kicks off on March 13 at 4 p.m. ET. The players’ contracts, which were set to expire in 2023, will then formally expire, leaving them free agents.
Teams will be able to designate one franchise or transition tag player at the start of free agency. This opportunity will open on February 20 at 4 p.m. ET and run until March 5. Teams may begin legal negotiations with players who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents from March 11 to March 13.
The start of all trades being officially confirmed by the league office coincides with NFL free agency. The deadline for signing restricted free agents to offer sheets is April 19. The cutoff date for teams to match restricted free agent offer sheets is April 24. The 2024 NFL Draft, which takes place from April 25–27, comes after the restricted free agent deadline.
Additional information on limited and exclusive rights liberated agents’
A player becomes a restricted free agent if they have only three years of official NFL experience. First-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders may be applied to players at increasing price points by their original team.
The higher the round, the larger the tender amount; in the event that another team makes a contract offer and the first team does not match, the new team will transfer the round’s choice to the first team. A team’s right of first refusal just provides them the choice of matching or not. They receive nothing in return if they don’t match.
If the athlete elected not to be selected, an original-round tender would return a draft pick from the subsequent round to the original team.
