INDIANAPOLIS — The Panthers are ostensibly at the NFL Combine to look at college prospects.

But during his interview at the scouting combine Tuesday, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan offered updates on a number of the team's free agents.

Perhaps the most significant is one who isn't even a free agent yet, as Morgan said he hoped the team had an extension for cornerback Jaycee Horn in the coming weeks.

Horn's currently on the final year of his rookie deal after they picked up the fifth-year option, putting him on the same timeline as Derrick Brown last year. Morgan said executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis was talking to Horn's representatives.

"They're talking; things are moving along, so hopefully, we get something done there sooner than later," Morgan said.

That would be a huge boost for a team that finished last in the league in defense last year and needs to rebuild around cornerstones like Horn and Brown.

But Morgan also offered updates on some of the others among the 21 unrestricted free agents they entered the offseason with (after already extending Andy Dalton and JJ Jansen).

He said the intention was to bring back both center Austin Corbett and backup Cade Mays, keeping the offensive line group intact. And while there's been speculation about Taylor Moton's future because of his cap number, Morgan said the intention was to keep him under his current deal as well, knowing they can revisit it in the future.

He also said that kicker Eddy Piñeiro was going to be allowed to test the market and that they were looking for other kickers after signing Matthew Wright recently.

"We are going to let Eddy test the market; his agents can be here; they can kind of see what his value is," Morgan said. "Definitely not going to close the door on that, but at the same time, we will be actively looking."

He said the team wanted to bring back punter Johnny Hekker and were in discussions on that front, that would lend some stability on special teams for a new kicker, since Hekker has experience working as a holder with Jansen.

He also mentioned tight end Tommy Tremble as a player they wanted to bring back.