USAT: Panthers Wire audio clip

USAT: Panthers Wire

Feb 22, 2022

The Carolina Panthers have quite a few areas of need heading into the offseason, but have fairly limited resources to try to address them with. They’re out of their second and third-round selections for April’s draft and will carry a middling amount of cap space into free agency in a few weeks. - So, how do you create more resources? Well, unfortunately, you create more open spaces. - When previewing the Panthers’ upcoming spring, ESPN’s David Newton listed two notable candidates the team could cut to free up more cash. He suggests cornerback A.J. Bouye first, who has one year remaining on the deal he signed with Carolina last offseason. - “Bouye, 30, plays a position loaded with young talent,” Newton notes. “Cutting him would save $3.5 million in cap space.” - A pre or post-June 1 release would trigger that $3.49 million for the Panthers, with approximately $1.2 million in dead cap for 2022. And, as Newton alluded to, having young corners such as Jaycee Horn, CJ Henderson and Keith Taylor Jr.—with Stephon Gilmore and Donte Jackson waiting for new deals themselves—doesn’t hurt either. - Newton then, in a higher-profile move, suggests linebacker Shaq Thompson as the second candidate. - “Thompson is a team captain and leader,” he writes. “He also represents $18.2 million in 2022 cap space. Cutting him would clear $12 million in space for a team that needs a lot of upgrades without much money to do it.” - The 2015 first-round pick is now on the last two years of a four-year, $53 million extension. A pre-June 1 cut would count for $12.5 million in dead cap this season and save $5.6 million. A post-June 1 cut would count for $6.2 million of dead cap in each of the next two campaigns with $11.8 million in savings for 2022. - These wouldn’t be easy cuts to make, however. Both Bouye and Thompson played considerably well for Carolina in 2021—with the former admirably manning the nickel spot and latter only registering his best pro season yet. - Also, the potential losses of Gilmore and/or Jackson could make Bouye that much more valuable to their secondary. Thompson, additionally, is the heart of the linebacking corp that’s already thin as it is. - So would these risks even be worth the biscuits? - - RelatedPanthers CB Jaycee Horn receives C+ grade for shortened rookie campaignNFL.com identifies Panthers' most must-keep free agent - - List - - 4 quarterbacks the Panthers should consider in free agency - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Panthers Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Panthers Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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