Panthers “Actively Recruiting” Free Agent LT Russell Okung

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Panthers are “actively recruiting” free agent LT Russell Okung to join them in Carolina.

This is the first we’ve seen about the Panthers being a landing spot for Okung, but it makes plenty of sense given that they have a lot of question marks at the position.

Last night, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that the market for Okung is likely to consist of the Bronco, Giants, Jets, Chargers and Vikings.

Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post mentioned Okung will be able to secure an even better contract than the one-year, $5 million deal he signed with the Broncos last year. This contract did include a four-year,$48 million option, but it was ultimately declined by the Broncos a few weeks ago.

Tesfatsion added that the belief right now is that Okung should be able to get between $10-12 million per season when all is said and done.

Last Wednesday, Broncos GM John Elway told reporters that they not “moved on” from Okung, despite the fact that they declined to pick up his option last week.

Okung, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2010. After six years in Seattle, Okung signed a one-year, $5 million contract that included a team option with the Broncos in March of last year.

The Broncos had until March 9 to pick up Okung’s $1 million team option. Had they exercised his option, they would have added four years at $48 million with $21 million guaranteed to his contract.

In 2016, Okung appeared in all 16 games for the Broncos and was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 38 offensive tackle out of 78 qualifying players.

We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2017 Free Agents list.

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