CHARLOTTE, NC – The Carolina Panthers agreed a deal with free-agent cornerback AJ Bouye on Wednesday as they try to improve their secondary course to this month’s NFL draft.
Bouye, a 2017 Pro Bowler, will be banned from the first two games of the 2021 season as part of a six-game ban he received last year for violations of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
According to the league, he is allowed to participate in off-season and pre-season training.
Carolina signed 10-year veteran corner Rashaan Melvin on a one-year deal previously in free agency.
Bouye, 29, was released by Denver in February after having played in only seven games due to injuries and the suspension. He was traded from Jacksonville to the Broncos in March 2020, having played much of the Jaguars’ flight to the AFC Championship Game in the 2017 season.
Bouye entered the NFL in 2013 with Houston as an undrafted free agent. He played well enough that he got a five-year $ 67.5 million deal with Jacksonville in 2017.
He had six interceptions in 16 starts that season. He’s only had two choices since then, and he didn’t have one for Denver last year. In 69 career basics, he has a total of 14 interceptions.
Bouye will likely be signed up as the starter in Carolina against Donte Jackson, who is in the senior year of his rookie deal.
The former Central Florida star will take on Melvin, likely on the right.
The addition of Bouye reduces the urgency to use the No. 8 of draft on a corner. The team eliminated the need to draft a quarterback on Monday after swapping with the New York Jets for Sam Darnold, but general manager Scott Fitterer said this doesn’t completely rule out the eighth pick being used in that position.
“What we wanted to do to go through free agency, through this swap with Sam, into this concept was just get rid of all the needs,” Fitterer said Monday. “We wanted to go to a place where the roster was, in a good place, and we could take the best player at number 8.”