The Detroit Lions finally added to their EDGE room on Tuesday by agreeing to terms with free agent D.J. Wonnum. At just 28 years old, Wonnum certainly fits the Lions’ description of a young player with potential—which has certainly been Detroit’s type this free agency. But what do Carolina Panthers writers and fans think about?
Let’s check in on people who covered Wonnum for the past two seasons have to say about the new Lions defender.
Panthers writers, fans
The main comment from Carolina seems to be that the writing was on the wall for Wonnum after Carolina made the splash move of signing Jaelan Phillips in free agency. However, there are clearly some mixed feelings about how Wonnum’s time in Carolina should be defined. After a relatively successful start to his career with the Minnesota Vikings—including two 8.0-sack seasons—the expectations were relatively high when Wonnum signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract in Carolina.
He responded with a mediocre two years: one promising season shortened by injury and a relative let-down in 2025. In total, he tallied 23 starts, 7.0 sacks, 79 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three passes defended, a forced fumble, and an interception.
But numbers don’t tell the whole story, so here’s a more detailed account of Wonnum’s time in Carolina from Panthers writers:
Wonnum has had a strange two years in Charlotte, which included an extended recovery from an injury, then a splashy first few games in 2024 and then a relatively quiet 2025. Last year, he had one interception, one fumble recovery, 42 tackles and three sacks (career low). He did, however, start 16 of the 17 games he played in.
Wonnum still has a lot going for him, he’s still just 28 years old, has had seasons where the talent and production really align, and even on a poor unit with last year’s Panthers defensive line, showed some solid reps at times. Wonnum should still have a lot of football to play in the NFL; it may just not be in Carolina, especially if he wants to get another solid contract.
There was optimism Wonnum would build on his strong finish in 2024, when he provided a spark to the league’s worst defense with four sacks after missing the first half of the season. But Wonnum was held without a sack for the first 13 games last season before recording two in a loss at New Orleans. He finished with three and has just seven in two seasons in Carolina, one fewer than his 2023 total in Minnesota. A longtime scout for another NFC team said the 28-year-old hasn’t looked the same since his quad surgery (and complications stemming from it). The Panthers used their second- and third-round picks on edge rushers Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen last year, and will look to upgrade the position again this offseason.
Wonnum’s two-year deal is up. His dirty work throughout the 2025 campaign didn’t go unnoticed, but something was missing after a long-term injury at the start of his tenure with the Panthers, which came with complications. The time has come to part ways.
And for a fuller profile on Wonnum, here are a few cut-ups from writers during his time with the Minnesota Vikings (all written after the 2023 season).
The reality is that Wonnum is best suited as a team’s third edge rusher, not an every-down starter. He has 23 sacks in four seasons, but many of them — especially prior to 2023 — came on plays where he was unblocked or was cleaning up a scrambling quarterback thanks to good coverage on the back end. Wonnum’s PFF grade was a career-best 62.3 this season (60 is average) after three years in the 50s, and his pass rush win rates have never been particularly impressive. Fascinatingly, he has 7.5 sacks and 41 pressures in eight career games against the Chicago Bears, with 15.5 sacks and 95 pressures in 55 games against everyone else.
Defensively, keep an eye on D.J. Wonnum, who a pro personnel source said should be considered a top “sleeper” for free agency. Wonnum, who has posted 23 sacks in his four seasons of play, played in a career-high 83% of the team’s defensive snaps last season and has excellent length and size as an edge rusher (6-5, 260, 34 1/8-arm).
Wonnum has only been a full-time starter in two of those seasons (2021, 2023) and has experience playing with his hand in the dirt earlier in his career under former head coach Mike Zimmer’s 4-3 scheme and as a stand-up pass rusher over the past two years.
Wonnum isn’t a household name outside of Minnesota, but he has been a consistent contributor to the Vikings defense since getting selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The long and lean pass rusher is a capable run defender (32 stops this year), while adding 30-40 pressures per season over the past three years.
Wonnum is a solid rotational edge who can step into a starting role if injuries require it. That’s a valuable commodity in the NFL, where he can raise the floor of the room and help a defense continue to operate throughout a long and grueling season. His profile is similar to Dorance Armstrong in Dallas a couple of years ago before he signed a two-year, $12 million extension with the Cowboys.
Panthers fans
If you’re looking for a more emotional reaction, fans are always the best source for that. Here’s how Panthers fans reacted to Tuesday night’s news that Wonnum was headed for Detroit.
And I want to end with a quote from Wonnum himself after a “down” 2025 season:
“I look at it as kind of like a season of growth,” Wonnum told The Charlotte Observer last week. “Growing in the sense of, ‘It’s not always going to go how you go,’ and kind of being more of a team player, and allowing the guys around me to make plays. And I feel like that’s kind of how it’s been this year. Just doing my job to the best of my ability—setting the edge, running games correctly, pressuring the quarterback to get him out of his spot—and it’s not always meant for me, other guys make the plays.”
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