Free agent DL D.J. Wonnum signing with Carolina Panthers

Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end D.J. Wonnum is is finalizing a two-year deal to join the Panthers, per the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Wonnum suffered a season-ending torn quadricep in Week 16 agains the Detroit Lions this past season.

Wonnum finished the 2023 campaign with a career-high 62 tackles, eight sacks, six passes defended and one fumble recovery. The Minnesota Vikings drafted Wonnum with the 117th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

In his NFL career, D.J. Wonnum boasts 171 tackles, 23 sacks and 11 pass breakups. Prior to the NFL, he was a standout at South Carolina, earning All-SEC Second Team honors in his senior season with the Gamecocks.

Carolina Panthers fans look for hope in fresh faces

Carolina Panthers fans can only hope Wonnum’s arrival comes with a change of fortune. This past season, the team post a league-low 2-15 record. On The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday afternoon, Luck Combs shared his displeasure with Panthers owner David Tepper.

“But, you know, it kind of feels like we’re the worst franchise in all of professional sports right now. And it’s really hard. It’s really hard to deal with that,” Combs said.

Tepper, who bought the Panthers in 2018 for a then-record $2.2 billion, has stewarded the franchise to a 31-68 record with six head coaches since taking over. Combs also noted that though Tepper is a highly successful individual in the world of high finance and asset management, success in one field is rarely directly translated into another.

“So — he’s obviously a shrewd businessman,” Combs said. “But I’m a great musician and I’m not a football coach, you know what I mean? That’s just the way it is. I’m great at doing music, but I ain’t at the combine yelling you who to draft. You know what I mean? You can be good at one thing, don’t mean you’re good at something else.”

As the Panthers have flailed in recent years, an unsavory side of Tepper started to shine through, such as when he threw a drink on fans out of his suite at a game during the 2023 season. 

Pat McAfee and Co. reminded Combs of the story when Tepper apparently purchased the vacation home of a former boss or manager that he disliked, tore down the house, and built a bigger one on the same site.

Combs had a bit of a tongue-in-cheek response to that, as he’s well aware of how much Tepper is worth.

“And I think as a fan, I think we all — I mean throwing drinks on the fans in Jacksonville ain’t a hot look,” Combs said. “It ain’t a good look. And he’s probably trying to buy my house. He’s probably trying to buy my house. He could if he wanted, I would be glad to sell it to him.”