Carolina Panthers specialist JJ Jansen signs contract ahead of free agency
JJ Jansen’s franchise-record run with the Carolina Panthers will continue in 2026.
The longtime long snapper signed a one-year deal with the franchise on Tuesday, the team announced. Jansen, 40, has played 17 seasons with the Panthers since being acquired in a trade from the Green Bay Packers in 2009.
Jansen has played a franchise high-mark of 277 games during his career with Carolina. He has now signed his sixth consecutive one-year deal with the team.
The Notre Dame alum was set to test the unrestricted free agent market — along with 17 other teammates — in March before agreeing to the new deal.
Jansen will return to Bank of America Stadium for the offseason program this spring. He will also moonlight as a color commentator for three Indoor Football League games as well. But those media duties won’t conflict with organized team activities in May, as Jansen was able to schedule his broadcasting jobs around the offseason program calendar.
“I see it as two things that I’m doing alongside one another,” Jansen told The Charlotte Observer last week. “There are guys in our building that go and play a lot of golf. There are guys that build real estate empires and go back to school. This is what I like to do in the offseason, in terms of building up, not only my skills in a separate profession, but also it’s a hobby, right? Like, it’s a job, but it’s a hobby. It’s something I like doing. It’s something I want to get better at. And it just happens to also be in football.”
With Jansen signed, the Panthers will have at least two returning specialists during the upcoming season.
Second-year kicker Ryan Fitzgerald signed a three-year deal as an undrafted free agent last offseason. Veteran punter Sam Martin is still among the 17 Panthers players set to become unrestricted free agents in March.
Panthers’ remaining free agents
Unrestricted free agents
LB Krys Barnes
C Austin Corbett
G/T Brady Christensen
G/T Jake Curhan
RB Rico Dowdle
CB Akayleb Evans
OLB Trevis Gipson
P Sam Martin
CB Damarri Mathis
C Cade Mays
WR David Moore
OT Yosh Nijman
CB Robert Rochell
LB Christian Rozeboom
DB Nick Scott
DB Isaiah Simmons
LB D.J. Wonnum
Restricted free agents
LB Claudin Cherelus
LB Thomas Incoom
TE James Mitchell
DE LaBryan Ray
Exclusive rights free agents
WR Jalen Coker
WR Brycen Tremayne
This story was originally published February 17, 2026 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Carolina Panthers specialist JJ Jansen signs contract ahead of free agency."
