The Carolina Panthers have informed free safety Tre Boston that they’re releasing him, according to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN. Cutting Boston comes as a bit of a surprise, considering he just signed a three-year, $18 million deal last offseason. He did struggle at times during the 2020 campaign, allowing three touchdowns in coverage and missing 15 tackles (13.6%).
The Panthers have done the same with defensive end Stephen Weatherly and punter Michael Palardy, according to a report by Jeremy Fowler at ESPN. Unlike Boston, Weather and Palardy were predictable cuts for salary cap reasons – the same as Kawann Short, who was released a few days ago.
Weatherly was arguably the team’s worst free agent signing of 2020 outside of middle linebacker Tahir Whitehead. He never made a real impact in the nine games he played, totaling just 17 tackles, three quarterback hits, nine pressures and no sacks. A finger injury cut his season short. The Panthers are loaded with young talent on the edge anyway, so cutting Weatherly is no real loss.
Palardy spent the entire 2020 season on injured reserve after he tore his ACL at some point during the offseason. He’s already been replaced by Joseph Charlton, who was an undrafted free agent from South Carolina. He had a very strong rookie season and may be their punter for a long time.
All together, the moves will save the team about $11.5 million in salary cap space for the year.
