Possible Landing Spots for Jeremy Chinn

Examining a few potential destinations for the Panthers' safety in free agency.

Jeremy Chinn played an extremely limited role on the Carolina defense in 2023 and it took him, and everyone else by surprise. 

All offseason long, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero praised Chinn's versatility and how in conversations between he and Frank Reich, there were "even more roles for him than what we thought."

Obviously, something changed along the way as Chinn appeared in just 39% of the team's defensive snaps - a drastic drop-off from the 90+% he played in his first three years in the league. I find it hard to believe Chinn's talents just evaporated out of thin air, so to me, this had to be some sort of scheme issue. For someone as versatile as Chinn is, I'm not sure how that would be - only Evero would know.

With Evero being retained as the team's defensive coordinator, I'd be willing to bet Chinn looks for other opportunities in free agency. If he does indeed decide to move on from Carolina, here are four teams that I feel would be good fits.

Buffalo Bills

The duo of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde is nearing its end and perhaps we're already there as Hyde is set to hit free agency. Bringing in a much cheaper, younger player who has a lot of upside to help fill out the secondary makes sense to me.

Green Bay Packers 

The Packers need to button things up in the back end of the secondary. I'd be shocked if they decided to bring back Jonathan Owens, but even if they do, it has to be in a backup role. Chinn could slide right into the starting spot. If Green Bay is the spot, I don't think he'll be in the box nearly as much as he should be. 

Los Angeles Rams

The front seven remains in pretty good shape, but now, the Rams need to focus on revamping the secondary. I'd imagine they would like to bring back Jordan Fuller, but if they can't get a deal done, Chinn wouldn't be a bad second option. In the scenario Fuller returns, I don't think it would impact the Rams' interest, considering how much value he brings to playing in the box.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have just one safety (Jevon Holland) under contract. There is a clear need here. The unknown, however, is what type of skillset new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will want to target.

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