After six practices at Wofford, Marty Hurney and the Panthers have decided to bring back safety Tre Boston on a one year contract worth $3 million in incentives. NFL insider, Adam Schefter, and Tre Boston himself announced the signing on Wednesday night via Twitter. This signing is a long time coming, as Boston and Carolina have kept in touch over the last two offseasons.
Earlier this year, Boston and Carolina tried to get something worked out, but it was reported that Boston wanted more money than Hurney wanted to give up. He was waiting on the right fit for the right contract. Now that it’s August and the first preseason game is on the horizon, Tre thought it would be best to sign with Carolina. Per Josina Anderson, Tre told her he chose Carolina because they are “a playoff team. The defense is missing one piece, so why not help my brothers out and finish what we started.”
This news hit Twitter around 10:30pm on Wednesday night and Panther Nation went nuts. It’s something that many fans have expected for months. Tre lives in Charlotte and still has ties to the Panthers in many capacities. He often visits Charlotte sports radio station WFNZ. He plays golf in Charlotte and invites fans around Charlotte to play. When Carolina returns to the field today at Wofford, Boston is expected to be there with them.
The defense with Boston at free safety is scary good. Prior to this signing, it was expected that Rashaan Gaulden would start at free safety. Gaulden, while making some plays in camp, wasn’t impressing at free safety. He did, however, make several plays at nickel corner. The signing of Boston signifies that Gaulden will like play big nickel, where he’s more comfortable. While Carolina will implement multiple defensive fronts and schemes, this is how their 3-4 unit will look:
SS Eric Reid
FS Tre Boston
CB James Bradberry
CB Donte Jackson
OLB Brian Burns/Bruce Irvin
OLB Mario Addison
ILB Luke Kuechly
ILB Shaq Thompson
DE Kawann Short
DT Dontari Poe
DE Gerald McCoy
On paper, this is possibly the best defense that the Panthers have ever had. At the very least, they have the most potential.
Boston, who just turned 27 in June, was a 4th round pick for Carolina in 2014 and was with the Panthers until 2017. In three years, he amassed 108 tackles, 10 pass deflections, 3 interceptions and 2 sacks. He was part of the 2015 Super Bowl team, where the secondary proclaimed themselves as “Thieves Avenue”. He has since played for the Los Angeles Chargers (2017) and the Arizona Cardinals (2018), where he amassed 158 tackles, 17 pass deflections and 8 interceptions. Since being released from Carolina in 2017, Tre has turned himself into a top 3 safety in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. This signing gives Carolina a much needed upgrade in the secondary, and gives them more ball hawking ability. Welcome home, Tre.
By: Norris Thornburg August 1, 2019
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