MHS831

They would never make me run laps---those fries don't cook themselves.

If this is 100% accurate and my impression is also accurate, I disagree with the practice of yelling at coaches in front of players at practice or any other time. Not on the pro level--that can backfire because we all have our dignity and many of these coaches will not respond favorably to that. It also hurts their credibility in front of the players. It may make you pound your chest and snort through your nostrils, but beyond that, it is a bad practice that is unlikely to have ever paid off for him--probably hurt him.

The next 2 seasons of Roster management here in Carolina are going to be critically important; so glad Marty will be in Washington trying to grab a beer with an old chum. We seem strapped right now, but if we shed the dead weight and sign some young rookies to take their jobs, we could be sitting pretty by 2023. Once we stop paying RBs like LTs, and once we stop paying backup QBs like established starters...but cutting the big contracts is not going to take much away from this team----Short? Paradis? Thompson? And we can't pay Moton? Let's take a look at the situation (and this cap figure is assumed by OTC): Currently: Under the Cap figure (OTC) $7,100,000 CUT NOW Michael Palardy $1,900,000 (Charlton plays for over a million less) Stephen Weatherly $6,000,000 (no brainer) KK Short $8,600,000 Note: Panthers could go ahead and cut KK Short now, which would save $8,600,000 as opposed to $13m+ post June 1. Since KK money seems to be needed now, that could be the play, but I am including his cap savings here and in June 1 cuts as well. Signing Moton: If this is all we do now—cutting these 3 players which seems very possible, the cap room climbs to about $23.5m. Since we need to sign Moton if we can, we need to restructure some contracts to add Moton and a veteran or two. Those Bridgewater and CMC contracts were crazy. Bridgewater should have been paid on a one-year “prove it” deal and CMC’s contract does not sequre his time here, it threatens it. Guessing that we need about $9m for rookies. June 1 Cut Options KK Short $13,200,000 (If not cut now) Shaq Thompson $11,000,000 (is he worth $14m? —trade if possible) Matt Paradis $8,500,000 (our only starting OL under contract….) Teddy Bridgewater $8,000,000 (I do not see this happening with a rookie QB coming in) Notes: KK will probably never play another down here, but if we can cut him after June 1, the benefit is over $4m….Shaq is a solid LB who should be drawing an average LB salary. I am not sure that he is a great fit in Snow’s scheme. Regardless, nothing makes sense with him before June 1, and he, like Paradis, could get a year by default…Paradis is likely to be flanked by a rookie G, a current bench player, or and a veteran free agent G. It is possible that 2 new faces at T cap the ends of the OL. I doubt they move the only returning starter under contract, but the option is there. Get this…. A Post June 1 trade of Bridgewater would save the Panthers about $18m. There are so many teams seeking a QB, might a team need a guy with decent stats for a season? Cutting him Post June 1 saves about $8m.

It really is time to pay the band. I see a closing window--or closed one--if you look at their roster, cap figure, and draft capital. OTC shows Taysom Hill with a cap figure of $16m. Let that sink in. The same as their LT and within 3 million of the cap figures for Michael Thomas and Cam Jordan. Hill has the 4th highest salary on the team if Brees retires.

It is very conceivable ("Stop using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.") that the top 4 QBs are gone by Atlanta. If teams do not want a QB, they will be given trade offers. I could see (after Trevor goes to the Jokesonville Jags, NY Taking Wilson, Miami taking Lance, then Atlanta taking Fields. Cincinnati would then take Sewell, the Eagles would take a WR (Chase is my guess), and Detroit would take a WR (Smith) or CB (Farley). So what does Carolina do in this situation? Do we trade back and hope for the fifth QB on our board falls to us? Do we reach and take Jones? First, we have to assume that the Panthers are interested in any of the top 4 QBs--they would all be upgrades, so let's assume they are. That makes life easier. You have to be ready to overpay to move up. Many teams may be trying to get your guy--since it is a QB, the most valuable player in all of sports, you pay more. I would send #8 and #81 (or so, 3rd rounder) AND my second rounder in 2022 to Cincinnati IF no QB is taken by one team in the top 4. You gotta pay to play. If the Jets take a QB and Miami takes a QB, we are in the unenviable position of trying to trade up with a division rival. Not ideal. So it is my impression that we have to move up to #2 or #3 to assure a QB, but I think it is a good bet that we would get one at #5---consolation prize? Sewell LT.

Yeah, QB inflation. It will be interesting to see how we start positioning ourselves to enter free agency--that might reveal what we are hoping to accomplish in the draft. We have some June 1 cuts that could save us a bunch going into the season signing waived players, etc. or it could simply carry over to 2022, where we are bigger players in free agency. While we are in bad shape, we are probably in better shape (cap, contracts) than the rest of the NFC South

As I was reading this, it was eerie that nearly every main thought confirmed my hunches. I think we end up with Lance, trade back in the second round and take a few OL and maybe a CB. I see depth at those positions this year.

Same page. Hill is not going to get you jewelry, but a disciplined, focused, and coached Winston. They pick at 28 or something similar, and I think Jones will be gone, leaving them with Trask, Mond, and maybe Newman. Winston is their best option. I Still do not expect Brees to go quietly into that good night. He will either come back dramatically, or will milk the idea for attention then retire.

He played more NFL DE than TE, and was a former WR. They love versatility, and it is nowhere more valuable than on STs.

I read another piece on him--team player, great attitude, and we can assume, versatile. But this may suggest a few things, and I am reading some foggy tea leaves here: 1. We want to address the TE position but we may realize that we probably cannot this year. 2. We have multiple TE needs, and this guy will compete for a roster spot/special teams role. 3. We value versatility--and he could be an H-back type that replaces Armah. 4. He has pictures of Fits at the Seahawks Christmas party.

Nice call. Totally forgot about him.

We do, but it seems the first move to address a position that was horrible last year. I think this guy has offensive skills and would probably be a better target/weapon in the passing game than Thomas (speculation).

Sorry Juan--I was posting the same thing at the same time--but my thread is a different slant--Seattle website.

6-5, 245, listed as a TE here. Do not be surprised if he finds a way to crack this roster.

Interesting in that this Seahawks article takes a cheap shot at the Olsen signing in the last paragraph. Interesting that this player was a WR at LSU that converted to a TE, and was drafted as a TE and converted to a DE for the Hawks, where he played 22 snaps. https://www.fieldgulls.com/2021/2/3/22265049/seattle-seahawks-2020-seventh-round-pick-stephen-sullivan-signs-with-carolina-panthers DAMN: "So, for now it’s best of luck to Sullivan with the Carolina Panthers, and maybe in a decade or so when he’s old and injury plagued, the Seahawks can bring him back and add him to the list of washed up former Panthers tight ends added in free agency."

It was not just newton--the female reporter was setting Newton up--both ESPN folks. Igo is right--this is click bait, and her question was fishing. They were attempting to get him to say anything to get a story out of it. They didn't, so they made one anyway.

Pie for quoting one of the greatest movies ever made.

It was a stupid question---you do not ask a player about a player who is under contract on another team. She prefaced the question with a statement about the Panthers' interest in Watson, so anything he says after is framed around that situation---A pro Teddy answer suggests no interest; a negative answer suggests interest...It was a trap or a question that reeks of dumbassery. How in the hell does ESPN allow that in their reporters? If CMC takes the bait and starts talking about Watson, there are possible fines and sanctions. Come on.

I see both sides because the issues are situational more than dispositional. Do we trade up, and eliminate our ability to support that QB by assembling a solid OL? The chances for success depend on our ability to support the QB that is to carry us. So if we can get the QB we want without selling the farm, do it. However, if getting that QB means selling the farm and crowning Paradis as our best OL, then we have to consider other options, and we do have Bridgewater for at least 1 more season--and draft a T and G/C with the picks it would take to move up, deciding to go after the QB in free agency or the draft next year? I am for doing what it takes to get a QB now because we are at #8 and can trade up, but we may have to part with some bigger contracts and play some rookies to build the OL.

Not worth a first rounder--maybe for a bad contract player like Thompson and a fourth.

I mean, people like the smell of their own brand, but I never took it that far. Except that one time in college...

Atlanta is in cap hell and they have huge needs on defense and the OL. QB is decent and they can't get out of his contract. It makes no logical sense to take a QB this year. It makes perfect sense to trade back, get some additional picks that can replace the bigger contracts, do some cutting, and get a QB in 2022 or 2023. Getting a QB to sit the bench in 2021 is not the right move, IMO

And since we are in the division, they may not trade with us

If it were you, would that not be a surprise? Would it be somehow better?