NFL Rumors: 2-Time Pro Bowler Carlos Dunlap to Visit Panthers

Veteran free-agent defensive end Carlos Dunlap is set to visit with the Carolina Panthers on Monday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Dunlap, 33, is a 12-year NFL veteran who spent his first 10-and-a-half seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2020 campaign.

The North Charleston, South Carolina, native is a two-time Pro Bowler and represents a potential pass-rushing replacement for Haason Reddick, who left the Panthers for the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency.

Dunlap was a second-round draft pick of the Bengals in 2010, and he went on to become one of the most prolific pass-rushers in team history.

He racked up 82.5 sacks in 155 regular-season games with the Bengals, placing him second on the team's all-time sack list behind only Eddie Edwards (84.5).

Dunlap had a career-high 13.5 sacks in 2015 en route to his first Pro Bowl and was named a Pro Bowler again the following season after an eight-sack effort.

Cincinnati traded Dunlap to the Seahawks during the 2020 season for center B.J. Finney and a seventh-round draft pick, and the move paid dividends for Seattle.

In eight games for the Seahawks, Dunlap finished with five sacks. He followed that up with a team-high 8.5 sacks last season, giving him 96 for his career.

Last season, the Panthers ranked in the middle of the pack in sacks, but Reddick led the way with 11. Carolina's leading returning sack artist is Brian Burns, who had nine, while no other returning player had more than 3.5 last season.

Carolina didn't do much to address its defensive line in free agency or via the draft, instead banking on third-year man Yetur Gross-Matos taking a leap forward.

While the Panthers will need plenty out of Burns and Gross-Matos moving forward, bringing in an experienced and productive veteran like Dunlap for obvious passing situations could provide a boost.