Tag: Kawann Short

WATCH: Luke Kuechly surprises Cam Newton during live stream at Super Bowl

Check out this must-see moment between Panthers greats Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly from Thursday:

Go grab your tissue box, Carolina Panthers.

Now that he’s a full-fledged YouTuber, franchise great Cam Newton has been setting up shop at radio row this week from the site of Super Bowl LVIII. And during his second outing on the job, he got a heartwarming surprise from an old friend . . .

Former linebacker Luke Kuechly—one of Newton’s “favorite teammates of all-time,” per Newton—joined his pal on the set for a few minutes. Cam wasn’t stingy with more superlatives either—also presenting to some and introducing Luke to others as the “epitome of an ultimate teammate,” “a professional,” and, of course, “Captain America.”

Newton would then ask Kuechly how, during his illustrious eight-year NFL career, he could turn the switch from Clark Kent to Superman.

“You wanna compete, man. You wanna win,” Kuechly replied. “You work so hard and you wanna win. And I think that’s really what it comes down to is the competitive side of guys is ultimately what makes ’em a good football player.

“And you know how it was in Carolina—we had the best dudes. Whether it was Thomas [Davis] or G.O. [Greg Olsen] or [Ryan] Kalil or you or Chuck [Charles Johnson] or K.K. [Kawann Short] and Star [Lotulelei], and I’m missin’ guys, Roman [Harper] and Peanut [Charles Tillman] and Josh [Norman]—everybody on our team was so doggone competitive. Stew [Jonathan Stewart], [Mike] Tolbert, Fozzy [Whittaker]. And it was just kinda an understanding of like, this is how we do things in Carolina and if you don’t wanna be a part of it, then go on and get out.”

The way they did things resulted in the most sustained success in franchise history. With Newton and Kuechly leading the way, the Panthers captured three consecutive NFC South titles and an NFC championship between 2013 and 2015.

So, hopefully this new era in Carolina starts stacking up some competitors, or dawgs, of their own.

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Former Panthers DT Kawann Short cleared for football activity

The Panthers should be among the teams kicking the tires on Short.

Former Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short has been cleared for football activity and is already in discussions with several NFL teams, according to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN.

For a while, Short was one of the league’s most underrated interior defensive linemen. He was a Pro Bowler for Carolina’s defense in the 2015 and the 2018 seasons. In 99 career games, he’s posted 32.5 sacks, 88 quarterback hits and 59 tackles for a loss.

Unfortunately, injuries have kept Short on the sidelines for most of the last two years. In 2019, he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 2 that put him on the shelf for the rest of the year. Last season, the same thing happened in Week 3 with his other shoulder. Both required surgery.

When he’s healthy, Short can still be a valuable contributor for a defense that needs more interior depth. The Panthers should be among the teams kicking the tires on Short.

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5 free agent DT’s that can help fill in for David Onyemata

5 free agent DT’s that can help fill in for David Onyemata

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New Orleans Saints defensive tackle David Onyemata shared Friday on Instagram that he has been suspended to start the 2021 NFL season after testing positive for a banned substance. With two of the top three Saints defensive tackles (Malcolm Brown and Sheldon Rankins) leaving the team this offseason, depth along the line was already worryingly thin.

The Saints will likely need to add a tackle to the roster in order to help fill the void Onyemata’s loss will create. Of the seven defensive tackles left on the roster, only one of them was drafted to enter the NFL, and he (practice squad holdover Ryan Glasgow) is also the only one with more than three years’ experience in the league.

An experienced option to hold it all together would be nice, but it’s worth noting everyone still available is either older, returning from injury, or both. Here are five free agent options New Orleans could pursue:

2021 NFL free agency: 10 remaining players for Bills to sign

As NFL free agency officially opens, here are 10 players for the Buffalo Bills to still sign.

It might seem like the NFL’s free agency market was already open all week, but it wasn’t. Now it offiically is.

At 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the new “league year” begins. All prior reported signings or trade actually had not happened… they were just “agreed” to. Now all those can go through.

However, even though this deadline has been passed, that doesn’t mean the Bills can’t still continue adding players. The free agency market is still stockpiled with talent for the Bills and general manager Brandon Beane to look at adding.

With that, here are some free agents who have yet to agree to any terms with teams that could interest Buffalo:

Is Kawann Short a fit for the Vikings?

Short has only played in five games over the last two seasons.

The Minnesota Vikings need some help on their interior line. That’s not exactly a secret.

One player to watch in free agency is former Panthers defensive tackle Kawaan Short.

Nick Shook over at NFL.com lists Short as a good fit for the Vikings. Here’s what Shook wrote about the fit:

Short made much more money in Carolina than he’ll fetch on the open market, which could make him a good fit for the financially-strapped Vikings. Minnesota needs to get better up front after finishing 27th against the run, and if Short can stay healthy, he might be able to make a difference at a bargain rate for the Vikings.

Short, 32, has played in just five games over the last two seasons, so it’s tough to say what exactly the Vikings would get here. He was a Pro Bowl player in 2015 and 2018, so the talent is there for the former second-round pick, he just needs to stay on the field.

It’s worth noting that the Vikings will also have Michael Pierce, who sat out in 2020, back in 2021.

Panthers now rank No. 7 in projected 2021 salary cap space

About a month ago, the Carolina Panthers did not have much salary cap room to work with for 2021.

About a month ago, the Carolina Panthers did not have much salary cap room to work with for 2021. Thanks to some slick money moves by general manager Scott Fitterer in his first few weeks on the job, they now rank among the league’s leaders in projected cap space for this year.

We weren’t crazy about the decision to release free safety Tre Boston, which opened up a big roster hole and only saved around $3.55 million for the year. The rest of Fitterer’s early moves have hit all the right notes, though. Cutting Kawann Short shaved off a significant $8.6 million cap hit. They also let Michael Palardy, Stephen Weatherly, Woodrow Hamilton and Natrell Jamerson go, adding to the pile.

The shrewdest move thus far was a restructured contract for starting center Matt Paradis. Carolina converted around $7 million of Paradis’ roughly $8 million in base salary for this year into a signing bonus, creating another $4.69 million in cap room.

Now the Panthers’ financial outlook for 2021 looks much better. According to Spotrac, they have just under $40 million available, or $39,983,683 to be exact. Some estimates have them closer to $35-$36 million. We assume the discrepancy is that Spotrac is including the rollover amount from 2020. For the Panthers, they’re getting an extra $4.27 million.

That $39.98M figure is the seventh-largest in the NFL at the moment. Only the Jaguars, Jets, Patriots, Colts, Bengals and the Washington Football Team have more.

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Report: Panthers interested in re-signing DT Kawann Short if he doesn’t go elsewhere

According to a report by NFL insider Adam Caplan, Carolina is interested in re-signing Short if he doesn’t get a deal elsewhere.

The Carolina Panthers have cut several veterans this week, freeing up around $20 million in salary cap space for the 2021 season.

Defensive end Stephen Weatherly and punter Michael Palardy probably won’t be missed much. Cutting long-time veterans free safety Tre Boston and defensive tackle Kawann Short had to sting for some fans, though. Good news: the team is open to bringing back at least one of them if it doesn’t work out for him in free agency.

According to a report by NFL insider Adam Caplan, Carolina is interested in re-signing Short if he doesn’t get a deal elsewhere.

Short missed most of the 2019 and 2020 seasons due to separate shoulder injuries. However, at his peak Short was a fringe All-Pro defensive tackle. Pro Football Focus has him ranked No. 6 among all interior linemen going back to the 2013 season.

If the Panthers can get Short back at a fraction of the cost of his former contract, there’s no reason not to.

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Ranking 7 potential 2021 contenders around the NFL that could use Kawann Short

Hopefully Short will sign with a team that gives him a chance to win a championship.

The Carolina Panthers released Kawann Short yesterday. He hasn’t played much since 2018 due to multiple season-ending shoulder injuries, but when he was healthy Short was one of the NFL’s most underrated defensive tackles and we’re willing to bet that he could be an impactful defender again.

Hopefully Short will get to sign with a team that gives him a legitimate chance to win a championship. As it happens, there are several potential 2021 contenders who could use some help at this spot, or just an extra shot in the arm defensively to get over the top. Let’s rank seven of them.

How much salary cap space do the Panthers have after cutting Kawann Short?

How much salary cap space has these moves saved?

The Carolina Panthers cut Kawann Short today, severing ties with a former Pro Bowl DT who’d been with the team since 2013. Carolina also released two other players a couple of days ago: DT Woodrow Hamilton and DB Natrell Jamerson.

How much salary cap space has these moves saved? Short answer: not a ton. Short’s release was not designated a post-June 1 cut, so it frees up around $8.6 million for the 2021 season. (Carolina would have saved $13.28 million post June 1). The other two were practice squad/bubble players who were never going to cost much to begin with.

According to Over the Cap, the team currently has approximately $20 million to play with for the rest of the year.

via Over the Cap

That’s not a lot of space, but it should be enough to make at least a couple of mid-level signings in free agency and pay OT Taylor Moton.

If the Panthers are also interested in retaining WR/RB Curtis Samuel (they should be) they can free up more by cutting the likes of DE Stephen Weatherly, DB Juston Burris and P Michael Palardy.

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Report: Panthers releasing former Pro Bowl DT Kawann Short today

The Carolina Panthers will be releasing two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short today, according to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN. 

The Carolina Panthers will be releasing their two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short today, according to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN.

This move was expected, as Short missed most of the 2019 and 2020 seasons due to shoulder injuries. He’s also 32 years old and the team will save a bunch of salary cap space by cutting him. How much depends on the details. If he’s a pre-June 1 designation, Short’s release will save the team roughly $8.6 million in 2021 and come with an $11 million dead money figure. If it’s a post-June 1 cut, it saves $13.28 million with just $6.33 million in dead money – per Over the Cap.

Carolina has a strong defensive line rotation and should be able to handle losing him, especially considering he hardly played the last two seasons.

For now, Derrick Brown and Zach Kerr are projected to start inside in 2021. Both are relatively cheap and performed well last season. However, there’s a compelling case to continue building up that defensive line and turn it from a strong unit into a dominant one.

A couple of free agent replacements who are worth considering include Shelby Harris of the Broncos and Larry Ogunjobi of the Browns.

Update:

Joe Person at the Athletic reports Short’s release is not a post-June 1 designation, so they’ll save $8.6 million this year and take the full dead money hit.

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