Tag: Panthers Salary Cap

Carolina Panthers’ three-year salary cap forecast looks strong

Getting the Carolina Panthers back into playoff contention won’t happen overnight.

Getting the Carolina Panthers back into playoff contention won’t happen overnight. However, the future looks bright for general manager Scott Fitterer and coach Matt Rhule as they enter the next phase of this ongoing rebuilding project. For one thing, the team is loaded with young, flexibile and talented players, including the two most versatile in the NFL. They also have a relatively strong outlook when it comes to the salary cap situation.

According to an analysis by Pro Football Focus, Carolina has around $186.6 million in effective salary cap space over the next three years. That’s the fourth-most in the league.

“The cap situation is bright going forward, and new general manager Scott Fitterer has brought the old Seattle Seahawks approach of stockpiling draft capital with him to Carolina, which is reflected in their No. 6 ranking for active draft capital. Still, you also should have a good cap situation if your current roster ranks dead last in veteran valuation, which is the case here. Fitterer and Co. can build from the ground up, ideally with new quarterback Sam Darnold turning his career around in a hurry.”

Unfortunately, all of this positivity comes with that Sam Darnold-shaped asterisk, because if he doesn’t work out this team’s ceiling will remain relatively limited, no matter what the cap or draft capital picture looks like.

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Carolina Panthers 2021 free agency primer: 4 questions as the legal tampering period begins

For the Carolina Panthers, it’s the beginning of a critical phase this offseason.

The NFL’s legal tampering period will begin in one hour, allowing teams and agents to “begin” negotiations ahead of the official start of free agency at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 17th. For the Carolina Panthers, it’s the beginning of a critical phase this offseason.

Not every position can be addressed in the draft and this team has several critical needs. They won’t have a ton of money to make a big splash signing, but after some shrewd cap moves they should have enough for a few mid-level deals to help round out their depth chart. Before the reports start coming in, let’s review where the team stands in regards to the salary cap, their own pending free agents, positions of need and potential targets.

How much salary cap space do the Panthers have after franchise-tagging Taylor Moton?

The Carolina Panthers used the franchise tag yesterday for the first time in several years.

The Carolina Panthers used the franchise tag yesterday for the first time in several years, applying it to Taylor Moton.

Moton has had a sensational run as their starting right tackle for the last three seasons and was the most critical pending free agent for them to retain this year. If Moton does not agree to a long-term contract extension before July 15, he will play for the Panthers next season under the franchise tag. For offensive linemen in 2021, that will cost roughly $13.75 million. Where does that leave Carolina as far as available cap space?

The NFL has set the salary cap at $182.5 million, down some 7.9% from last year due to the pandemic. So, after tagging Moton, the Panthers should have around $18.44 million left over, according to Over the Cap.

That’s not a lot of money to play with and most of it will likely be used to retain other pending free agents. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel and left tackle Russell Okung should be at the top of that list.

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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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Carolina Panthers: Updated salary cap space projection for 2021

The Carolina Panthers are currently searching for a general manager to replace Marty Hurney, who was fired a couple weeks ago.

The Carolina Panthers are currently searching for a general manager to replace Marty Hurney, who was fired a couple weeks ago.

One of the reasons that Hurney was shown the door (again) was his questionable method of managing the salary cap. As with his first run as Carolina’s GM, Hurney handed out some player-friendly deals to positions that are not critical to success in today’s NFL, most notably huge extensions for running back Christian McCaffrey and linebacker Shaq Thompson. He also allowed cornerback James Bradberry to walk and failed to re-sign offensive tackle Taylor Moton and wide receiver Curtis Samuel.

Whoever replaces him will inherit a difficult cap situation. According to an estimate by Over the Cap, the Panthers will have $16,215,770 in cap space to work with next year.

One position group that could see a ton of turnover as a result is the offensive line. Four starters are set to become free agents in March, including left tackle Russell Okung, left guard Chris Reed, right guard John Miller and Moton. Several backups are also about to hit the market.

While Reed and Miller won’t be hard to bring back if the team is interested, keeping Moton in town is going to be an expensive proposition. If Hurney had given Moton an extension any time over the last year and a half, it wouldn’t be as bad. Now after posting an elite season in pass protection, Moton is guaranteed to cash in and will likely become the highest-paid right tackle in the league. At the moment that title belongs to Lane Johnson of the Eagles, who is earning $18 million per year.

It won’t be easy, but Carolina’s next GM has to find a way to pay Moton while still addressing a few other key spots. Cutting players like defensive tackle Kawann Short would help (the team would save $14,500,000 after June 1) but there’s not a ton of fat to trim.

Hopefully whoever they hire has a keen eye for identifying young talent, because the next phase of this rebuild will mostly have to come via the draft. Finding a new potential franchise quarterback and a respectable starter to replace Okung should be at the top of their list.

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How much cap space do the Panthers have going into 2020 training camp?

With training camp set to begin later this week, let’s take a look at the team’s updated salary cap picture.

It took a while, but the Carolina Panthers now have their entire 2020 NFL draft class under contract.

With training camp set to begin later this week, let’s take a look at the team’s updated salary cap picture.

According to Over the Cap, the Panthers currently have $10,072,824 in space remaining for this season. Only 12 teams have less. That’s not a whole lot of room to add talent at positions of need like tight end and cornerback, let alone if somebody important currently on the roster gets injured.

This is 2020, so naturally it gets worse from here, too.

Previously, we were expecting a significant raise in the team’s salary cap space for 2021 (up to a maximum of $90 million) with a lot of dead weight coming off the books. Unfortunately, due to a projected massive shortfall in revenue this year because of the pandemic, the Panthers and every other team will be going into a much leaner environment.

If the salary cap ceiling winds up being $175 million next year, Carolina would have just $9,371,349 left if they carry over their current estimated cap room, per OTC.

Hopefully the revenue drop is not as bad as projected and the cuts won’t be as deep next year. If not, the front office will lose a valuable tool as they begin phase two of the rebuilding period.

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Report: Details on Eli Apple’s 1-year deal with the Panthers

The Panthers have signed cornerback Eli Apple to a one-year, $3 million deal according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.

The Panthers have signed cornerback Eli Apple to a one-year, $3 million contract according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network. The deal includes a $750,000 signing bonus.

Carolina will be the third team that Apple has played for since he was drafted in 2016. Between the Giants and the Saints, he’s played 48 games so far. While his pro career has seen some ups and downs, this pricetag is small enough to qualify as a low-cost, potentially high-reward kind of a move by the Panthers. As long as Apple isn’t an absolute disaster starting at left cornerback, it’s a good deal.

As cheap as it is, Apple’s contract eats up pretty much everything that was leftover of the team’s 2020 salary cap space. Earlier in the week, Over the Cap’s estimate of the Panthers’ space was just $3,255,202.

If they’re going to sign anybody else this season, they’ll have to make some cuts.

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How much salary cap space could the Panthers have in 2021?

Panthers salary cap: Projections from Over the Cap for 2021.

The Carolina Panthers’ salary cap picture is a bit of a mess right now, much like the roster.

As of this moment, Over the Cap says the team has just $3,255,202 in salary cap space left. Only three teams have less room to work with. Dead money is also a major issue. Carolina is carrying a ton of dead weight in 2020: a total of $36,359,260.

The Panthers could still shuffle some money around, but there’s just not enough to make any real impact signings should the need arise during the season, to say nothing of acquiring another respectable starting cornerback before it begins.

It’s tough to swallow but fans have to remember this is the beginning of a long-term rebuild and it’s going to take some time. However, things should get a bit easier in 2021.

According to an estimate by Jason Fitzgerald at OTC, the team is going to have $47,323,388 in salary cap room next year. They could free up a lot more money by making some cuts, too. He projects their max cap space with cuts to be $90,306,888.

Some of the best players who will become free agents in 2021 include Joey Bosa, Jalen Ramsey, Keenan Allen, George Kittle and Chris Jones. Picking up a star at a key position next year would help the next phase of Matt Rhule’s rebuilding project.

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Panthers rank No. 26 in cap space heading into the 2020 NFL draft

Panthers general manager Marty Hurney and coach Matt Rhule have their work cut out for them. 

Panthers general manager Marty Hurney and coach Matt Rhule have their work cut out for them.

With two days to go before the 2020 NFL draft, the team has a ton of roster holes to fill after losing several defensive starters in free agency this year and one very important one to retirement. The notion that they’ll be able to fill all of their needs in one draft class is unrealistic. Even if Hurney throws a perfect game and hits on several mid and late-round picks, there will still be a lot of work to do after the draft is over.

Another problem: there won’t be much money for him to work with. According to Field Yates at ESPN, Carolina has just $7,008,210 in salary cap space right now. That ranks No. 26 in the league.

In other words, consider the Panthers out of the running in the Jadeveon Clowney sweepstakes – and every other free agent race.

This cap number would be problematic at any time of the year. It’s particularly rough right now as at the moment there are only 63 guys on the roster. To get even close to 90, they will have to sign a lot of undrafted free agents this weekend.

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