The Panthers won’t have a ton of money to play around with this year unless they make some significant cuts. Even after losing Luke Kuechly to retirement and parting ways with Greg Olsen, they will only have between $33 million and $36 million in salary cap space.
Here are five players that could be cap casualties this year. All salary info comes courtesy of Over the Cap.
RB Mike Davis
Cap savings: $3,000,000
Dead money: $0
Signing Davis was always a bit of a head-scratching move. Christian McCaffrey rarely if ever comes off the field and they have two young, cheap backs already on the roster in Reggie Bonnafon and Jordan Scarlett. Davis can contribute for a run-heavy kind of team that needs depth, but the Panthers aren’t one of them. Consider him as good as cut.
K Graham Gano
Cap savings: $1,462,500
Dead money: $3,075,000
Gano had a career best season not too long ago, connecting on a league-best 96.7% of his field goals in 2018. However, two years is an eternity in the NFL and Gano is coming off a serious leg injury. The team re-signed Joey Slye to a one-year extension earlier this week, so they already have a younger, cheaper option already on the roster. The dead money penalty might just be enough to save Gano, though.
WR Jarius Wright
Cap savings: $3,000,000
Dead money: $666,668
Wright was a quality possession receiver in 2018, consistently moving the chains for Cam Newton when he was healthy. Unfortunately, his level of play fell off significantly this past season and he dropped far too many passes. The 2020 NFL draft class is strong at wide receiver, so Carolina should be able to find an upgrade in the slot. Excluding Davis, Wright is the best candidate to get cut on the team.
DT Dontari Poe
Cap savings: $9,812,500
Dead money: $3,333,334
Poe has done a respectable job holding down the middle of the Panthers’ defensive line since he signed a couple years ago. However, he’s now 29 years old and the team needs to get younger in the trenches. Releasing him might leave Carolina perilously thin at the position, but the savings they’ll get makes it worth it. Unless they’re also getting rid of every other interior lineman except for superstar Kawann Short, Poe is probably gone.
QB Cam Newton
Cap savings: $19,100,000
Dead money: $2,000,000
All along, we have maintained keeping Cam Newton around and starting him at quarterback remains this team’s best chance to win games in 2020. That said, it is much easier to rebuild a roster (especially one with this many holes) when you don’t have to factor in a veteran QB’s contract. While Newton is absolutely sure he will be back, the front office and new coaching staff has been non-committal about his future. Cutting Newton could be a disaster on the field in the short term. However, it would give the Panthers a fresh start and a much better cap outlook.
