Panthers expected to use franchise tag on right tackle Taylor Moton

The Carolina Panthers are expected to use their 2021 franchise tag on their stud starting right tackle Taylor Moton, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.

The Carolina Panthers are expected to use the franchise tag on their stud starting right tackle Taylor Moton, according to a report by Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.

Moton is arguably the best right tackle in the league right now and this team absolutely could not have afforded to let him sign with another team. It’s still in their interest to sign him to a long-term deal. This move at least buys them more time to do so.

Franchise tags for offensive linemen are all the same regardless of their specific position. This year it’s around $13.6 million.

The last time the Panthers used a franchise tag on a player was defensive tackle Kawann Short in 2017. Short eventually signed a multi-year deal, which he was recently released from. However, the team is reportedly interested in bringing him back if he doesn’t wind up signing with another team as a free agent.

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PFF predicts Panthers re-sign OT Taylor Moton to 5-year, $82.5 million deal

How much might a Moton extension cost?

Today is the first day NFL teams can designate players for a franchise tag. If the Panthers use theirs, the clear favorite is right tackle Taylor Moton. He is their most important pending free agent and also likely to be the most expensive. If the Panthers can’t reach a long-term deal by the new league year, they’re expected to use the tag on him, per David Newton at ESPN.

A long-term extension would be better for Carolina’s cap room in 2021, though. How much might a Moton extension cost? Pro Football Focus is predicting they’ll re-sign Moton to a five-year, $82.5 million contract which would include $45 million guaranteed.

“Moton has been the model of consistency over the last three years, grading “in the green” every year as a starter. He performs well in the parts of offensive line play that translate well moving forward, including ranking in the 90th percentile in PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets since 2018.”

Moton is coming off an excellent 2020 season. He was Carolina’s highest-graded player of the year by PFF and only allowed a 3.4% pressure rate.

$82.5M sounds like a lot to us non-millionaires, but Moton would be worth every penny. In addition to a consistent high level of blocking, Moton has proven remarkably durable. He has yet to miss a game in his career and has played at least 99% of the team’s offensive snaps the last three seasons.

If the Panthers do work out a deal with Moton soon, it would give them a better chance to also re-sign WR/RB Curtis Samuel, who is their next-most important pending free agent.

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Is there a case for the Panthers to keep OT Russell Okung?

It may not be a popular idea, but re-signing Okung to come back for another year or two may be the most sure thing at this point.

The Panthers need a left tackle and the ones currently on the roster are all supremely flawed in one way or another. There’s certainly not a slam-dunk scenario to be found. Starter Russell Okung is now 32 years old and has missed 19 games over the last two seasons due to a combination of injuries and serious health issues. He’s also about to become a free agent.

2019 second-round pick Greg Little’s career has been derailed by concussions and ankle problems and he’s only been on the field for 358 offensive snaps heading into his third year in the league.

Other backup options inclue Trent Scott and Dennis Daley, neither of whom exactly thrived when they got their turns to start during the 2020 season.

In an ideal world, the Panthers would be able to pick up a new franchise left tackle who’s also young in the next draft.

Even highly-touted prospects are never a guarantee, though. Penei Sewell (Oregon) and Rashawn Slater (Northwestern) are considered the top tackles in this class. If the draft board doesn’t fall Carolina’s way, they might not be able to get either one of them – especially if they’re still looking for a quarterback and hold the No. 8 pick.

It may not be a popular idea, but re-signing Okung to come back for another year or two may be the most sure thing at this point.

Yes, Okung has a lot of tread on his tires – he’s played 131 regular season games and has missed a total of 45 others. Yes, Okung’s recurring injury problems were frustrating last season. Yes, he probably only has a couple years of decent football left in him at the absolute max. Yes, his Twitter timeline is rather unfortunate.

Trouble is sometimes imperfect choices are the only ones you have, especially for an organization with as many needs as this one. Even with all of his baggage, Okung could be the Carolina’s best hope for getting quaity play at left tackle in 2021.

Making room for Okung wouldn’t be easy. To recap, the Panthers have to upgrade at QB, find another real starter to pair with Donte Jackson at cornerback, get a true solution at middle linebacker and somehow find a way to keep Taylor Moton and Curtis Samuel.

That’s a lot of mouths to feed for a team with a projected $20 million in salary cap space remaining for the year after releasing former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short.

Okung can’t take precedence over an extension for Moton or Samuel, but if there’s enough money then general manager Scott Fitterer has to at least give serious thought to bringing him back. It’s hard to project what Okung’s market value is right now, but there’s at least a chance his situation could drive his price down and make an extension affordable for the Panthers.

Solid starting left tackles don’t grow on trees. Carolina should know that as well as any team the way things have gone since Jordan Gross retired. Re-signing Okung shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

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7 steps for the Carolina Panthers to have a strong 2021 offseason

There’s no such thing as a perfect offseason, but here are seven moves Fitterer can make that will help break Carolina out of this rut.

The Carolina Panthers have now posted a losing record three seasons in a row, finishing 7-9, 5-11 and 5-11 again since the last time they made the NFL playoffs. Team owner David Tepper is obviously dissatisfied, enough to dismiss former general manager Marty Hurney and hire Scott Fitterer to help turn the ship around.

Fitterer’s first offseason as general manager will be a critical one. This franchise has several roster needs that need to be addressed if the Panthers are going to get back to the postseason any time soon. There’s no such thing as a perfect offseason, but here are seven moves Fitterer can make that will help break Carolina out of this rut.

How much would it cost the Panthers to franchise tag OT Taylor Moton?

If the Panthers can’t come to a long-term agreement with Moton, they’ll have to consider franchise tagging him.

Thanks to some errors by the previous general manager, the Carolina Panthers are in a pickle heading into the 2021 offseason. Namely, there are a couple of important, high-quality offensive players who are about to become free agents. If Marty Hurney had given them contract extensions at any time over the last couple of years, the cost of keeping them would have been dramatically lower compared to now.

At the top of the list is offensive tackle Taylor Moton, who has developed into one of the NFL’s top right tackles, if not the best in the business. He hasn’t missed a game in four years and has usually performed well since he became a full-time starter back in 2018. Moton played every offensive snap that season as well as in 2020. He managed a meager 99% in 2019.

Consistent blocking at a high level doesn’t come cheap, but signing Moton to a long-term extension should be at the top of the list for general manager Scott Fitterer when it comes to retaining current players.

If the Panthers can’t come to a long-term agreement with Moton, they’ll have to consider franchise tagging him. How much would it cost?

According to an estimate by Jason Fitzgerald at Over the Cap, if the salary cap is set at $180.5 million the franchise tag for offensive linemen this year will be about $13.6 million.

Another candidate to get tagged is wide receiver Curtis Samuel – which would cost around $15.8 million.

Players can be designated for the franchise tag between February 23 and March 9.

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Only one Panthers player makes Pro Football Focus top 101 list for 2020

The Panthers only had one player make the Pro Football Focus list of the top 101 players in the NFL this year.

The Panthers only had one player make the Pro Football Focus list of the top 101 players in the NFL this year.

Right tackle Taylor Moton came in at No. 78 on their list.

Taylor Moton has been an impressive pass blocker for his entire NFL career, but this was the first season that his run blocking elevated to meet it. Moton allowed just 20 total pressures across his 16 games of action and had a PFF run-blocking grade of 76.3, almost 10 grading points higher than his previous career high.”

While there are a lot of great edge defenders in the league right now, it’s hard for us to accept that there are 101 better players in the league than Carolina defensive end Brian Burns, who PFF named as the team’s most-improved player of the year. He should have made the cut.

The Panthers could have had another, but they let James Bradberry leave in free agency. He had a great year for Dave Gettleman’s Giants and ranked No. 84 on PFF’s list. Carolina is expected to draft another corner this year to pair with Donte Jackson outside.

As for Moton, he will become an unrestricted free agent next month. If he’s allowed to take a similar path as Bradberry it could be even more damaging for this franchise. Offensive tackle and cornerback are two of the modern game’s most important positions and also two of the biggest weaknesses on this roster. Addressing both this offseason should be a priority, beginning with giving Moton a new contract.

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Panthers potential 2021 free agent targets: OT Trent Williams

As far as other free agent options go, there’s only one name really worth considering: Trent Williams of the 49ers.

The Panthers have had an issue at left tackle for almost a decade now. Trading Trai Turner for Russell Okung last year was just the latest failed attempt to fill the hole that’s been there since the retirement of Jordan Gross. Okung missed half the season due to injuries and he’s about to become a free agent in a few weeks, so it’s back to the drawing board at this spot.

As far as other free agent options go, there’s only one name really worth considering: Trent Williams of the 49ers.

Pros

On the surface, it may seem like Okung and Williams are too similar and therefore it would make more sense to just re-sign Okung. Both will be 33 years old next season and both made around $13 million in 2020. However, there’s a huge difference in their level of play. Okung is a good left tackle and has been most of his career. When healthy, Williams is an elite left tackle and just had a far better year than Okung. Pro Football Focus says his 0.4 WAR was the best for any tackle since they started grading in 2006 and they gave him a 91.9 grade for the year compared to 73.0 for Okung.

Cons

Williams’ relatively advanced age is the x-factor. While he’s a massive upgrade over Okung, he’s also not going to be the long-term starter no matter how well he might perform in 2021 and 2022. His price-tag is also likely to be a sticking point. PFF is projecting he’ll make $20 million per season on his next deal, while Spotrac says his market value is $18.2 million a year. Either way, signing Williams would be a huge investment.

Conclusion

You don’t win Super Bowls by being cheap. Left tackle is arguably the next-most important position on offense after quarterback and it’s been a problem area far too long. If Carolina could draft a guaranteed long-term starter that would be preferable, but aside from Penei Sewell nobody in this class has a ceiling anywhere near Williams’. He’s by far the best player who will be available at this position in 2021 and if the Panthers make only one big-ticket signing this year it should probably be him.

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Panthers offensive line coach on 4 pending free agent starters: ‘It’s part of the game’

This year, things aren’t quite as bad but there’s still going to be some significant turnover.

The Carolina Panthers lost more snaps played this past offseason than any other team in the NFL by a wide margin. Those dramatic personnel changes were a big factor in their disappointing 5-11 finish to the 2020 season.

This year, things aren’t quite as bad but there’s still going to be some significant turnover. Where we’ll likely see the most change is the offensive line, where every starter except center Matt Paradis is about to become a free agent. Offensive line coach Pat Meyer says he’d prefer to keep them all, but understands it’s part of the business, per the team website.

“I would like to get them all back. Is that possible? No, I know that. . . I’d like to keep them all, but that’s not the nature of the business, so it’s like, hey, let’s elevate some guys, get somebody in, draft somebody. It’s part of the game, and it’s cyclical.”

To review, left tackle Russell Okung is 32 years old and missed nine games due to injury this year. He’s almost guaranteed not to return. Meanwhile, starting right tackle Taylor Moton is just 26 and has become an elite talent at his position. However, keeping him will be an expensive proposition, either by an extension or the franchise tag.

By comparison, keeping guards John Miller and Chris Reed around would be easy but losing both Moton and Okung would be exceptionally difficult to overcome.

Looking ahead, it’s clear the Panthers will have to use some of their draft capital to shore up this position group. Getting those picks right will be critical in determining just how far this offense can go, no matter who is under center.

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Carolina Panthers: The top 5 candidates to get contract extensions in 2021

Now, let’s take a look at a few who deserve contract extensions.

The Carolina Panthers have a ton of tough choices to make this offseason and that’s after they decide on a new general manager.

Yesterday, we identified four players who are most likely to be cut for cap savings. Now, let’s take a look at a few who deserve contract extensions.

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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