{"id":536220,"date":"2026-03-21T06:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T06:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/536220\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T06:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T06:37:09","slug":"panthers-reach-agreement-with-former-app-state-standout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/536220\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers reach agreement with former App State standout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jaelan Phillips won\u2019t be the only new face<\/a> in the Panthers<\/a>\u2019 outside-inebackers room during the offseason program.<\/p>\n

Carolina agreed to terms with former Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Nick Hampton on Friday, a league source confirmed to The Charlotte Observer. The immediate terms of Hampton\u2019s agreement with the Panthers weren\u2019t disclosed.<\/p>\n

Hampton, who turns 26 in April, is a native of Anderson, South Carolina, and played college football at nearby Appalachian State.<\/p>\n

\"Los Los Angeles Rams linebacker Nick Hampton looks on before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on November 03, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers\/Getty Images) Steph Chambers Getty Images <\/p>\n

During his three seasons with the Rams, the 2023 fifth-round pick appeared in 36 games. However, the bulk of his work came on special teams, as he only played 118 defensive snaps across his tenure. Hampton played a career-high 65% of the Rams\u2019 special-teams snaps last season, producing 10 tackles.<\/p>\n

Hampton is likely to compete for a special-teams role and outside linebacker depth chart job this offseason. Phillips and Nic Scourton are expected to start, with Pat Jones and Princely Umanmielen providing rotational depth. Thomas Incoom and Trevis Gipson will presumably compete with Hampton for backup duties.<\/p>\n

The return of a special-teams ace<\/p>\n

Along with the addition of Hampton, the Panthers also brought back a familiar face from the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

The Panthers agreed to terms with tight end Feleipe Franks on Friday evening, a league source confirmed. The terms of the deal weren\u2019t immediately disclosed.<\/p>\n

Franks, 28, spent last season with the Atlanta Falcons. Franks played in all 17 games for Atlanta, appearing mostly on special teams. However, he did carry the ball twice for 4 yards in limited action. He played 299 total snaps on special teams, which was good for 67% of the team\u2019s snap count in that phase.<\/p>\n

\"Atlanta Atlanta Falcons tight end Feleipe Franks scores a touchdown in front of Dallas Cowboys CB Robert Rochell during the second quarter of an NFL Preseason 2025 game at AT&T Stadium on August 22, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere\/Getty Images) Stacy Revere Getty Images <\/p>\n

In 2024, Franks appeared in 16 games for Carolina. He caught one pass for 12 yards, but also produced 10 special-teams tackles.<\/p>\n

In an annual locker room poll conducted by The Charlotte Observer, Franks was voted Panthers\u2019 2024 special teams MVP<\/a> by his teammates.<\/p>\n

Franks, a former college quarterback, has established himself as a dependable special-teams player over the past two years. He has played 53 career games, and his specialty has been on punt and kickoff coverage.<\/p>\n

Franks will compete for a depth spot in training camp behind familiar teammates, Tommy Tremble and Ja\u2019Tavion Sanders. The team added Mitchell Evans, James Mitchell and Bryce Pierre last offseason, and that trio will serve as Franks\u2019 main offseason competition during the summer months.<\/p>\n

The Panthers\u2019 moving and shaking in free agency<\/p>\n

Re-signed: S Nick Scott, LS JJ Jansen, P Sam Martin, OLB Trevis Gipson, TE James Mitchell, OLB Thomas Incoom, ILB Claudin Cherelus, CB Akayleb Evans, CB Robert Rochell, WR David Moore, DE LaBryan Ray, S Isaiah Simmons<\/p>\n

Signed in free agency: OLB Jaelan Phillips, ILB Devin Lloyd, C Luke Fortner, OT Rasheed Walker, QB Kenny Pickett, RB AJ Dillon, OT Stone Forsythe, WR John Metchie III, TE Feleipe Franks, OLB Nick Hampton<\/p>\n

Agreed to trade: QB Andy Dalton<\/p>\n

Released: DE A\u2019Shawn Robinson<\/p>\n

Signed elsewhere: C Cade Mays (DET), RB Rico Dowdle (PIT)<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Mike Kaye<\/a><\/p>\n

The Charlotte Observer<\/p>\n

Mike Kaye writes about the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer. He also co-hosts \u201cProcessing Blue: A Panthers Podcast\u201d for The Observer. Kaye\u2019s work in columns\/analysis and sports feature writing has been honored by the North Carolina Press Association (NCPA). His reporting has also received recognition from the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE).Kaye previously covered the entire NFL for Pro Football Network, the Philadelphia Eagles for NJ Advance Media and the Jacksonville Jaguars for First Coast News. Support my work with a digital subscription\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jaelan Phillips won\u2019t be the only new face in the Panthers\u2019 outside-inebackers room during the offseason program. Carolina…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536221,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[77463,3687,399,1820,398,396,397,116384,240471,99],"class_list":["post-536220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-appalachian-state","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-football","tag-los-angeles-rams","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-nfl-free-agency","tag-nick-hampton","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}