On Wednesday, the Panthers not only kept one of their special teams aces, but they also made another move that will make headlines. Sam Franklin, a safety and key member of the special team, is being re-signed by the Panthers, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. The veteran will be under contract for a year.
Franklin joined Carolina as an undrafted free agent in 2020 after graduating from Temple, and he has been a member of the team ever since. During his first four seasons in the league, he had a sporadic defensive role, starting just nine out of 64 games. Despite this, he has been able to have an impact on special teams, averaging over 270 ST snaps in those four years.
In fact, in 2023, the 28-year-old played in a career-high 289 defensive snaps and finished with a career-high 30 tackles. In addition, he caught his first interception of the game and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.
Franklin could not have the same opportunity on defence in 2024, even though he will still play a big part on special teams. Last season, the safety mostly played when Vonn Bell and Xavier Woods weren’t in the starting lineup. Franklin is now closer to the bottom of the depth chart because the team added Jordan Fuller and Nick Scott via free agency while Bell was away.
Franklin joined Carolina as an undrafted free agent in 2020 after graduating from Temple, and he has been a member of the team ever since. During his first four seasons in the league, he had a sporadic defensive role, starting just nine out of 64 games. Despite this, he has been able to have an impact on special teams, averaging over 270 ST snaps in those four years.
In fact, in 2023, the 28-year-old played in a career-high 289 defensive snaps and finished with a career-high 30 tackles. Additionally, he caught his first interception of the season and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.
