Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY
The Carolina Panthers have signed 16 players to future contracts over the past month. Brandon Croce takes a look at the five players who have the best chance of making the 53-man roster next year.
The Carolina Panthers' front office was busy preparing for the 2016 season even before this past season was over, signing eight players to future contracts at the end of January and then eight more this past week. A future contract allows teams to sign players who were not on any NFL team's 53-man roster at the end of the regular season and those players won't count towards the roster total until the start of free agency on March 9th.