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CHARLOTTE, NC – The Carolina Panthers cleared $ 19.9 million in salary cap space this week with the release of four players, including three on Friday.
The exit of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short on Wednesday and defensive end Stephen Weatherly, safety Tre Boston and punter Michael Palardy on Friday improved the team’s ceiling space to $ 28.473 million towards free agency which begins on March 17. official until the league’s year begins on March 17 with a designation after June 1, according to a source.
Those moves more than doubled Carolina’s cap, which was around $ 8.5 million after the 2020 season, according to ESPN’s Roster Management.
The Panthers made $ 8.66 million with the exit of Short, $ 5.906 million with Weatherly, $ 3.55 million with Boston and $ 1.787 million with Palardy.
According to a league source, the moves were made specifically because of ceiling space and dead money. Even before Boston’s exit was made official on June 1, the Panthers led the league with $ 22.6 million in dead money.
The moves brought a team short of cap room to nearly the top 10 teams in the league in cap space.
That’s important for a team looking to level up to quarterback and rebuild the offensive line.
Ahead of the moves, Carolina, according to league sources, offered Detroit the No.8 pick, a fifth-round pick and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater for quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Lions finally traded with the Rams.
The Panthers, according to a source, plan to have a good run against Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson if the Texans grant the former Clemson star his wish to be traded.
Watson is expected to count $ 15.94 million from the 2021 cap and then increase to $ 40.4 million in 2022.
With center Matt Paradis the only starting offensive lineman currently under contract, the extra space allows Carolina to use the franchise tag on right tackle Taylor Moton if a long-term deal cannot be reached beforehand. the start of the new league year.
A tag on Moton would cost around $ 13.6 million now that the league has reset the cap to $ 180 million.
Short’s exit made sense given his age (32) and cap of over $ 20 million in 2021, second on the team behind Bridgewater’s $ 23 million success.
Weatherly fell short of expectations after signing a two-year, $ 12.5 million contract last year as a free agent after four years in Minnesota. Carolina plans to use 2020 second-round pick Yetur Gross-Matos as a starter against Brian Burns.
Palardy spent last season on the non-football injury list, and the Panthers were pleased with the performance of the undrafted Joseph Charlton, who is capped at just $ 780,000.
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