DT Dontari Poe

Cap savings: $9,812,500

Dead money: $3,333,334

Poe has done a respectable job holding down the middle of the Panthers’ defensive line since he signed a couple years ago. However, he’s now 29 years old and the team needs to get younger in the trenches. Releasing him might leave Carolina perilously thin at the position, but the savings they’ll get makes it worth it. Unless they’re also getting rid of every other interior lineman except for superstar Kawann Short, Poe is probably gone.