The Rams came to terms with Kamren Curl late Thursday night. Curl will proceed to take over for Jordan Fuller, whose Panthers visit will produce an agreement.
Carolina is adding the longtime Los Angeles starter, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. It is a one-year deal worth up to $5.25M, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds. Fuller will step in after the Panthers moved on from Vonn Bell one year into a three-year deal.
For Fuller, this will bring a reunion with former position coach Ejiro Evero. After the Panthers added one of Evero’s ex-Broncos starters — linebacker Josey Jewell— they will give him one of his old Rams pupils. Evero coached Fuller from 2020-21, working as Rams safeties coach and then DBs coach in that span.
Fuller ran into a couple of bad injury breaks in Los Angeles. The former sixth-round success story saw an ankle injury sustained in Week 18 of the 2021 season keep him out of the Rams’ ensuing playoff run that ended with a Super Bowl LVI win. A hamstring injury then managed to end Fuller’s 2022 slate after just three games. The Rams ran into some IR-activation issues that season, but Fuller did not establish much momentum despite commandeering a starting job as a Day 3 rookie in 2020. Last season did bring a resurgence; Fuller started all 18 Rams games and intercepted three passes while also forcing three fumbles.
A new coaching staff is coming in once again, but Carolina made a point to retain Evero. It is then unsurprising the team is giving the popular interviewee some of his former defenders. Fuller, 26, should still feature some upside. He will attempt to use this season as a means to securing a more lucrative contract.
The Panthers have released Bell and let Jeremy Chinn join the Commanders. A former Defensive Rookie of the Year silver medalist, Chinn had fallen out of favor in Evero’s scheme. The team still has starter Xavier Woods under contract; he will be set to team with Fuller as the Panthers aim to rebound from a woeful 2023 season.
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