Dan Morgen and Dave Canales
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General manager Dan Morgan and head Coach Dave Canales are convinced of Ejiro Evero's abilities.
The Carolina Panthers have been one of the most active teams in free agency. Carolina has spent big money on free agents like Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd. The team has also gotten great value on deals such as signing tackle Rasheed Walker to a one-year, $10 million deal, even though he was one of the best linemen in the free-agent pool.
Panthers general manager Dan Morgan has prioritized improving the team through acquisitions, but that also includes retaining players important to the team. One of those players is safety Nick Scott.
Scott re-signed with the Panthers on a one-year deal. The 30-year-old, in his second year with the Panthers, brought veteran leadership that the team felt was important to the defense.
Earning His Spot
During the Summer, there were questions about whether Nick Scott would be thePanthers’ starting safety. The seventh-round pick out of Penn State had spent four years with the Rams and one year with the Bengals before coming to Carolina in 2024. Scott played in 10 games and started only four, leaving his roster spot for 2025 in doubt.
Scott beat out 2025 fourth-round pick Lathan Ransom and Demani Richardson for the spot. In August of 2025, Mike Kaye ofThe Charlotte Observer wrote about why Panthers head coach Dave Canales gave Scott the edge in the position battle.
“We would love to give (the younger safeties) opportunities,”Canales said. “I think right now, Nick Scott has earned the right to be in there. I like having him back there, quarterbacking the defense from the back half and communicating with Tre Moehrig, who is playing in the system for the first time.That’s been a really good thing for us, through the spring, through training camp, certainly last night.Love where the communication was for them, and also justNick’s kind of showing those young guys, like, ‘This is how you quarterback it for back here — how to get guys lined up.’”
Scott brings leadership to the Panthers thatisn’t easily replaceable.
Leadership
The Panthers are a team on the rise, and they have a younger team overall, so veteran leadership is important. Nick Scott offers that for the Panthers defense.
Scott, last season, was the quarterback of the defense at safety, helped ensure things ran smoothly on the field, and mentored younger players.
Darin Gantt, in his January 7 article forPanthers.com, wrote aboutScott’s leadership and how his teammate, cornerback Chau Smith-Wade, explained the energy Scott brings.
“Nick is the spirit of the team in a lot of ways,”Smith said. “He’s very energetic, gets the guys going, loves to be in anytype of leadership role, and brings his happiness to that situation. When he pops back up, you can always tell, like, OK,Nick’s involved this week becausehe’s popping around andhe’s getting the guys going.”
Scott went from a special-teams depth signing to one of the leaders of the Panthers’ defense and will now enter his third season in Carolina.