We’re counting down the days until the Panthers kick off the 2024 season.
We’re officially 13 days away from the Carolina Panthers kicking off the 2024 NFL season and it’s time for our annual roster countdown to highlight the players on the Panthers’ roster. Today, we’re taking a closer look at No. 13 — cornerback Troy Hill.
After a solid college career at Oregon, Hill signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015 with the Cincinnati Bengals and appeared in three games. In 2016 he joined the Los Angeles Rams and spent five seasons with them. His first four seasons were as a key reserve and part-time starter, usually registering somewhere between 30-40 tackles in a given year.
But in 2020 Hill claimed a full-time starting gig with the Rams and had a monster season with 119 tackles, three interceptions including two pick-sixes, and 10 passes defended. He parlayed that outstanding season into a 4-yard, $24 million deal with the Cleveland Browns. But Hill was unable to build on his previous season’s success after joining the Browns in 2021. He lasted just one year in Cleveland appearing in 12 games with four starts and 49 tackles.
In 2022 the Browns traded Hill back to the Rams for a fifth-round pick. That year the 5-foot-10, 182-pound corner started all 12 games in which he appeared with 67 tackles, one interception, and four passes defended.
In 2023 Hill joined the Panthers as a free agent and the veteran blended nicely into Carolina’s rather thin secondary. Last year he played in 16 games with three starts, recording 48 tackles, six passes defended, and one interception – an exciting (though meaningless) 61-yard pick-six in a blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Last year Hill’s PFF grade of 62.4 ranked 73rd of 127 corners, so by that metric he was a slightly below average NFL corner. The Panthers are going to need the 33-year-old grizzled veteran to find the fountain of youth heading into 2024. He’s currently penciled in as the Panthers starting nickelback and given the team’s distressing lack of depth at the corner position, he should be in line for a lot of snaps this year.
We’ll see if Troy Hill can defy Father Time in 2024. The Panthers shaky cornerback room is going to need a big season from him.