Linebacker Devin Lloyd has agreed to a free-agent deal with the Carolina Panthers, league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Monday. The contract is for three years for $45 million, according to multiple reports.

Lloyd was ranked third among The Athletic’s top-150 free agents and was the top linebacker available.

Lloyd was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round in 2022. The No. 27 selection in that year’s NFL Draft got off to a strong start as a rookie. In his first month as a pro, Lloyd had 24 tackles, six passes defensed and two interceptions. He earned Defensive Rookie of the Month in September of the 2022 season.

Over the course of his first three seasons in the NFL, Lloyd established himself as a key part of the Jaguars’ defense. In that time, he only missed three games, starting 46 of the 48 games he played in. Although Lloyd was solid, Jacksonville’s defense struggled overall, ranking 22nd in the league in defensive EPA from 2022 through 2024. Following the 2024 season, the Jaguars declined to pick up Lloyd’s fifth-year option, making the 2025 season the final year of his rookie contract.

Lloyd’s fourth season ended up being his true breakout year. He had two interceptions in a 26-21 Week 4 win over the San Francisco 49ers, and followed that up with a crucial late-game pick-six of Patrick Mahomes in Week 5 as the Jaguars beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Lloyd finished the 2025 season with a career-high five interceptions and 10 quarterback hits, along with six tackles for loss and seven passes defensed. Lloyd’s performance earned him second-team All-Pro honors and the Jaguars finished with a top-five defense by defensive EPA.

How he fits

When general manager Dan Morgan said at the combine the Panthers would “attack” the linebacker position this offseason, he wasn’t kidding. More than nine hours after starting off the legal tampering period with a bang in the form of pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, Morgan bookended things by reaching an agreement with the top available linebacker and the No. 2-ranked free agent behind Trey Hendrickson at any position. Lloyd is a three-down beast coming off his best season, one in which he pressured quarterbacks effectively but also picked them off: His five interceptions tied for the second most in the league.

2026 roster impact

It’s hard to evaluate Lloyd’s impact without looking at what both he and Phillips can do for a defense that’s ranked at or near the bottom of the league for the past three seasons. When Morgan said in January that the pass rush wasn’t “up to par,” he wasn’t only talking about the Panthers’ edge rushers. Along with tremendous size (6-3, 235) and strength, Lloyd can get home on the blitz. He racked up a career-high 28 pressures last season in Jacksonville while finishing third in pressure rate among off-ball linebackers. And as evidenced by his five picks — including one against Mahomes he returned 99 yards for a TD — Lloyd is a complete, three-down linebacker.

Cap update

After their significant outlay on Phillips, it was fair to wonder how high the Panthers would be willing to go on Lloyd. But as other linebackers were reaching agreements throughout the day and the terms of those deals were disclosed, it seemed likely that Lloyd wasn’t going to get the $19 million or $20 million AAV that some had projected. Still, the Panthers invested a lot of free-agent capital Monday, moves that will require contract restructurings and the $10.5 million in cap room they’ll create by releasing A’Shawn Robinson.

Person’s takeaway

The buzz at the combine last month involving the Panthers centered on the defense, specifically that Morgan wanted to land one of the top linebackers while also aiming high for an edge rusher. Check and check. The deals were reminiscent of Morgan’s first year as the Panthers’ GM in 2024, when he went all-in at the guard position with big contracts for Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis. After Morgan turned his attention to the Panthers’ front seven, it’s hard to imagine that anyone in the organization could be more pleased than defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.