NFL Free agency: DJ Chark signs new contract with Carolina Panthers

After spending one season on a new team in 2022, former Detroit Lions wide receiver DJ Chark knows what his future in the league holds. According to a report from Jordan Schultz of the Score, Chark is headed to play receiver for the Carolina Panthers.

Chark was the No. 61 pick in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars following his career at LSU. In his three seasons in Baton Rouge, he recorded 66 receptions for 1,351 yards and six touchdowns, ranking sixth in the nation in yards per catch in 2017 with 21.9.

He spent four seasons with the Jaguars, and after a rocky rookie year followed it up with his best season as a pro. In 2019 led the team in the big three receiving categories with 73 catches, 1,008 yards, and eight touchdown grabs. Chark signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Lions in March of 2022, playing in 11 games for Detroit after spending numerous weeks injured. He ended the 2022 season with 30 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed 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.