Panthers Place Tender on Safety Sam Franklin

Carolina keeps a key special teamer.

The Carolina Panthers have placed a restricted free agent tender on safety Sam Franklin for $2.6 million. Other teams will be allowed to sign him to an offer sheet, but the Panthers will be able to match.

Franklin provided depth at safety this past season, but mainly made his impact on special teams where he became one of the best gunners in the NFL. He finished the season with 20 tackles.

"The guy, he's incredible," said punter Johnny Hekker. "He makes plays. He gets doubled. He draws penalties in the doubles and still beats them and gets up and makes plays. It's really stuff that you've seen when you watch Matthew Slater tape and Matthew Slater has been to Pro Bowl after Pro Bowl. Sam is kind of carrying that badge of honor for us and he's working his tail off for every bit of success he's gotten. I'm just proud of him and the mantle that he's taken on himself to be a special teams leader for us and he's producing at a really high level."

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