They also signed Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen to a three-year contract extension.

"Because it wasn't spent on a new guy, it gets lost in the sauce, but Greg is a big part of our offense," Gettleman said. "That's one way of showing the rest of the locker room, 'If you get it done, we're going to come to you.'

"It's been proven time and again that continuity and stability are important. Obviously you can't keep everybody every year, but the number one thing you have to do in evaluating is this: You have to know your team. You have to know who fits and who doesn't. Once you identify the important pieces that you want to keep, you do your best to keep them.

"Last year was completely economics-driven, and we couldn't keep some of those guys. Mike (Mitchell) got a ton of money, Ted (Ginn, Jr.) got a ton of cash and Captain (Munnerlyn) got a nice chunk of change. We just couldn't do it, but we're in a situation this year where we identified our own guys who could have become unrestricted free agents, and we were able to identify the guys we really wanted to keep."

At this early juncture of free agency, the two "outsiders" signed by the Panthers have significant ties to the organization.

Ginn, an elite return man, had 556 receiving yards with Carolina in 2013 after totaling 384 yards the previous three seasons. Last year with the Arizona Cardinals, he had 190 yards.

"We understand Ted, know how to use him, and he's a good fit," Gettleman said. "In this day and age, you've got to have a guy that can take the top off the coverage. Corey (Brown) has the speed to do it, and he did it for us once we inserted him in the lineup last year. But what's wrong with having two guys who can do it?