The Panthers continued to remodel their interior offensive line Friday. They agreed to a one-year deal with Bradley Bozeman. The team has announced the move.
A three-year starter with the Ravens, Bozeman has experience at both guard and center. The former sixth-round pick was part of each offensive line of Baltimore’s full-fledged Lamar Jackson era, being a full-time starter from 2019-21. Bozeman joins guard Austin Corbett as new additions for Carolina up front.
Bozeman, 27, brings experience and durability. The Alabama alum has missed just one start over the past three seasons. He entered free agency as one of the top centers available. The Panthers now have two highly flexible interior O-linemen, with ex-center Pat Elflein still in the fold at guard as well.
At one point, the Ravens eyed an extension for Bozeman. The Bengals also had the veteran inside blocker on their radar this offseason, before opting to add other interior players. Bozeman could well be tabbed to take over for Matt Paradis, the Panthers’ center of the past three seasons. Paradis is a free agent.
Fixing everything but left tackle is one way to handle a problematic line. I guess now that they won’t be trading #6 overall for Watson, they can earmark it for that.
The best thing they can do now is build the best possible roster around the QB position (meaning don’t draft QB at 6th) , run it back with Darnold, then go for the franchise QB next year. They’ll probably reach for a new QB at 6 though because Rhule knows Darnold 100% won’t save his job.
Wouldn’t surprise me.