Carolina Panthers sign veteran defensive back Eric Rowe
Eric Rowe signed with the Carolina Panthers, according to a Thursday release from the team. Rowe played the last four seasons with the Miami Dolphins.
He began his career as a cornerback with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 after the team drafted him in the second round out of Utah. However, he played just one season with the team before a September 2016 trade to the New England Patriots.
Rowe spent three seasons with New England and won two Super Bowls with the Patriots. In free agency back in 2019, Rowe signed with the Dolphins.
Last season, Rowe finished with 56 total tackles, 42 solo tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass deflections and two forced fumbles. In his career, Rowe has 381 total tackles, 272 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, five interceptions, 41 pass deflections, six forced fumbles and fumble recovery.
As a member of the Class of 2011, Rowe was a three-star recruit out of Spring (Texas) Klein, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 63 overall prospect in Texas, the No. 39 cornerback in the class and the No. 422 overall prospect in the class.
More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency
The NFL 2023 calendar year began 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 officially ran out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams had a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and it ended March 7. Teams were allowed from March 13 through March 15 a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.
More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents
Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team.
Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.