"Fans hoping for the Carolina Panthers to make a big splash in free agency might want to forget about those Mario Williams and Cortland Finnegan fantasies.

The Panthers' philosophy under owner Jerry Richardson and general manager Marty Hurney has been to build through the draft, re-sign the team's own key free agents and fill in the gaps with lesser-known players.

In Ron Rivera's first year as head coach, there has been little to suggest that approach has changed.

Besides a top-10 pick in the April draft - Carolina will pick either 8th or 9th based on a coin flip with Miami - the Panthers hope the biggest additions this offseason are starters returning from the injured list.

The Panthers (6-10) set a dubious franchise record in 2011 by placing 18 players on injured reserve which included seven starters - five on defense and two on offense.

While the Panthers' strong finish - they won four of their last six games - and rookie quarterback Cam Newton's record-setting season have created a sense of optimism heading into the offseason, veteran offensive tackle Jordan Gross wants to check the status of several of the injured players before making any bold predictions for 2012."