The Panthers threw a wicked curveball by passing on safeties in the 2019 NFL draft. It was even more surprising since they showed plenty of interest in a few of them in the run-up to the draft, like Washington’s Taylor Rapp and Maryland’s Darnell Savage, who both made official top-30 visits.

If the season were to begin today, Carolina might start Colin Jones or Rashaan Gaulden at free safety, which should be alarming. Eric Reid can play that spot much better than either, but he’s a more natural fit in the box. The Panthers have to seriously weigh signing a proven free safety between now and Week 1’s matchup with the Rams, or the results for that game and the season in general may not be pretty.

Fortunately, the safety market has been an odd thing over the last couple of offseasons and there are still some quality defenders available. Here are five free agent free safeties Carolina should consider.

Darian Stewart

Age: 30 years

Stats: 130 games, 11 interceptions, 45 pass breakups, 1 Pro Bowl

If the Panthers do sign somebody, it will probably be a defender who can play either the strong or free safety roles, since they’ve been mostly interchangeable during the Ron Rivera era. Stewart played strong safety for the Rams early in his career and he’s only missed three games over the last five seasons.