Veteran safety Vonn Bell is signing with the Carolina Panthers, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Monday.
Bell, who started 48 games for the Cincinnati Bengals over the past three seasons, can match up against tight ends, and he plays with a physical demeanor in the box. He's a dependable and tough veteran safety who can play top-down from split-field alignments and make plays on the ball.
In addition to a career-high four interceptions, Bell added eight pass breakups this past season. On nearly 500 coverage snaps, he didn't allow any touchdowns as the nearest defender in coverage, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Bell, who turned 28 in December, also forced four fumbles in his three seasons with the Bengals.
The former Ohio State standout signed a three-year, $18 million deal with Cincinnati as a free agent in 2020.
Bell could give the Panthers flexibility to move 2020 second-round pick Jeremy Chinn back to linebacker where he played much of his rookie season and had a bigger impact. He didn't have an interception or a fumble recovery this past season playing safety.
Drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round, Bell has played in 109 of 112 games during his NFL career, missing only three games in 2019. He has 635 tackles over his career with 15 forced fumbles, 9.5 sacks, 11 fumble recoveries and 6 interceptions.
ESPN's Ben Baby, Matt Bowen and David Newton contributed to this report.
