Former Vikings outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum is signing a two-year deal with Carolina Panthers, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Wonnum is a Georgia native who played his college football at South Carolina, and now he's headed back to that region of the country for his second NFL contract. The 26-year-old reached the eight-sack mark as a starter opposite Danielle Hunter in two of the last three seasons, sandwiched around a 2022 campaign where he was the Vikings' No. 3 edge rusher behind Hunter and Za'Darius Smith.
It was always fairly unlikely that Wonnum would be back in Minnesota in 2024 after the expiration of his rookie contract, but the Vikings signing Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel to be their new starting OLBs made that even more clear. Wonnum, who was a fourth-round pick back in 2020, is getting a solid $12.5 million on his two-year deal, per Panthers reporter Sheena Quick.
Wonnum brings good size and reliable tackling ability to Carolina, but his 23 career sacks with the Vikings often weren't of the high-quality variety. From our UFA profile:
The reality is that Wonnum is best suited as a team's third edge rusher, not an every-down starter. He has 23 sacks in four seasons, but many of them — especially prior to 2023 — came on plays where he was unblocked or was cleaning up a scrambling quarterback thanks to good coverage on the back end. Wonnum's PFF grade was a career-best 62.3 this season (60 is average) after three years in the 50s, and his pass rush win rates have never been particularly impressive. Fascinatingly, he has 7.5 sacks and 41 pressures in eight career games against the Chicago Bears, with 15.5 sacks and 95 pressures in 55 games against everyone else.
Wonnum was scheduled to visit the Bears later on Thursday, but the Panthers didn't let him leave their facility without a contract.
This signing means the Vikings have now lost more qualifying compensatory free agents (5) than they've added (4), so they're currently in line for a third-round comp pick in the 2025 draft for losing Kirk Cousins. If Dalton Risner and/or K.J. Osborn sign elsewhere, the Vikings could be in line for additional comp picks.
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