panthers55

Other than being the offseason and there isn't much to talk about, why does anyone worry about the cap? We can do whatever we want and still have cap space. You don't think the front office hasn't already figured it out and what they intend to do. Me I am just sitting back and watching. After all my job isn't on the line if we lose. Although at my age we don't have forever if I am going to live to see us play in another superbowl

That is ridiculous on several levels. First of all you have to spend 90% of your cap space every year so the idea you can just not spend it every year is against the CBA. Secondly your job is to assemble the best team you can for the fans players and team. Not to save money for the owner. Third many players who are considered great underperform while others like Luvu and Jackson have overperformed. What about a great player like Derek Brown who was injured and missed all of last year. Was he a waste of money?? Sure pay DK a fools ransom and hope he stays healthy. He didn't even get 1000 yards last year which averages out to 60 yards a game or play all 16 games. And lets be real, Jones and Watson aren't great but they aren't being paid that much either. Real glad you aren't the GM.

Defense is shaping up nicely. With our corners set we can keep working on safety and linebacker/edge rusher. Jackson said he wanted to be here so a deal wasn't tough to do.

At a good price this would be a good signing. Very athletic strong and at 335 it is mostly muscle. You can't have superstars at every position. Sometimes you need former JAGs who can become overacheivers.

He said he was doing what we did last year after seeing our results.

Not trying to bust on you but nothing we have done so far is new or unpredictable. Morgan said what he was going to do at the combine. The only thing unknown was how much it was going to cost and even then it is turning out about folks have predicted. You didn't have to be Nostradamus to figure it out so far. Now if we bring in the guys you want then I will be signing your praises as I would love a stud DL and safety signing. Then again so does a lot of other teams with lots of cap.

Those are my thoughts too.

One negates the other. If Horn is on him Godwin will have to work hard to earn his money against us.

That does it then. No need for free agency or the draft. After all no team ever goes from losing season to playoffs in one year...... except the Panthers every time. About time again....

Yeah that could be a big issue if he doesn't see us as up and coming or wants to go to a KC or Philly instead.

It is suggested that since he will want a new contract that he could be obtained for a third rounder. That is a deal. And as long as we control the guaranteed money we can fit him under the cap because most any multi-year deal is cap friendly the first year or two. And he has proven he isn't tailing off. Frankly we get him and a good Interior d lineman in free agency and suddenly our defense is a couple of linebackers and safeties from being hugely improved.

I like Warren alot and could see him as our pick if the defense didn't have so many holes. With a deep class of TEs, I would go defense in the first 3 picks and then consider offense and special teams. Yeah I might draft a kicker in the later rounds.

Yeah under Gettleman and Hurney we either way overpaid for free agents or only shopped in the bargain basement but had little consistency which is why we have more losing seasons than winning ones. I would like us to bring in a 5 technique, a nose tackle (maybe both) and safety free agent on defense and draft some other guys to help out with linebacker and safety. I am not as worried about WR as many others and would like to get a stud TE in the draft.

If I see several guys I want one consideration for me would be which positions cost too much to find a quality starter in free agency. Like drafting Ickey in the first for left tackle because they cost so much in free agency. So can we find a good safety in free agency at a good price or do we use one of our top draft picks on the best safety in the draft. Edge is expensive as is WR and quarterback among others. I wonder how much cost factors in and make you reach instead of BPA if the BPA is not one of the expensive positions.

He comes here because he has a new contract and likely a new start. Look at Theilen, he was tailing off and now he is revitalized in a new place. How many guys get traded who are doing great and perfectly content where they are? Maybe DJ when we traded him but he went there with a chip on his shoulder to prove we shouldn't have traded him. So they usually have good motivation to excel one way or the other. Sometimes positive sometimes to prove someone wrong. But we get a motivated guy usually.

You mean the cap would include those incentives he is likely to earn based on past performance? Yes. But the incentives wouldn't be paid until after the season and if he didn't reach them don't we get a credit or something? As for trades if you are the Panthers folks aren't coming here in droves as free agents unless we overpay. So by trading for them you make sure you get your guy at a price which is known and can be restructured for cap help. The best thing is you can often get a former first or second rounder for much less because the salary is attached.

I think we could definitely afford him if we thought he could help. In looking over his contract with the Giants I loved his contract in 2024. It had 2million n incentives like yards, TDs, making the probowl etc. Really pays if they produce which is how it should be. I wish more contracts were filled with incentives instead of guarenteed money.

If we are going to burn a 4th or 5th in the draft on a maybe, just trade the same for a proven vet. Samuel's went for a fifth right. Why not go for proven talent? Just saying...

Your assumptions about rookies coming in above average is unrealistic and not supported by our history. When have we had 3 rookies drafted who were above average out of the gate. Even in 2001 which may be our best draft ever, Morgan, Smith and Jenkins were not all above average as rookies. Secondly you admit that rookies don't shine until well into the year if at all. And no all 4 of them were not above average. starters in the second half when they were injured or struggled like Legette to catch the ball. He surely wasnt even average. Coker played due to injuries to Theilen for example. Otherwise he would have been a role player. Also how many guys started on the defense last year who won't be here this year? I agree the offense will be better when we add an RB and a upgrade at TE along with another wide receiver. But I don't agree that rookies will take us to the playoffs. Vets with experience will, with rookies being backups until they are ready to play. If a team has multiple rookies starting and they make the playoffs it would be rare to start with and likely because they have solid vets and and a quality quarterback. If you are starting multiple rookies you are either really bad, have a dearth of talent or both. I think the playoffs could be possible if Bryce picks up where he left off and our defense is much better. But no I don't want any rookie starting if we can avoid it. I like them as rotational players until they are ready to start. I will agree with the premise that with a lot of work, upgrade in talent, lack of injuries and some good luck we could be a playoff team but we better have huge free agency success as well as a solid draft to get there

Why assume above average? With the rookie wall which is real, common injuries which have befallen just about all our rookies, and the common refrain it takes at least half a season to let the game slow down and learn proper technique the likely of any rookie starting all year let alone playing above average is small. Look at our past top ten draft picks and tell me who was above average out of the gate. Even Kueckly started out on the weak side and needed time to learn the game. For every rookie signing that produces a stsrter right away, I can shpw you a dozen who struggle. And how good have we been picking instant starters in the second or third round. Not very. All your assumptions belie reality which is if you want starters you pick up vets. If a rookie starts and plays well it is a bonus and unexpected. When has it been different for us? Maybe Cam in 2011....

Big assumption these guys will be that great to propel us into the playoffs. Most rookies struggle like Brown did. No if you want playoffs you need vets with draft picks as backups while they learn to make the leap to the NFL

Can't decide until we know who is available. No one thought Brown would be there at 8 but he was. There are several players that if they are available at 8 we jump on it. But if someone wants to jump up and we like the compensation, then it depends on how far back we have to fall and who do we miss out on by waiting.

I would rather trade for one than pay bigger bucks in free agency. Deebo went cheap and there are others we could get for a middle round draft pick whose salary for now is doable. As to who that could be I will leave that to others who follow this more than I do.

Defenses play multiple packages beside their base package so the distinction between a 3-4 and 4-3 aren't as big as folks want to make it out to be. The bigger issue is often how they try to get pressure and how aggressive they are. Last year we generated little pressure, played a passive zone shell and avoiding giving up big plays by surrendering small ones and yardage on every play. It wouldn't have mattered what scheme we would have used. And without an influx of talent in free agency we will suck for several more years waiting for the rookies to develop into studs. It took Brown years to become the probowler he is. No you can't have all pros at every position but honestly you still win in the trenches and spending money there won't be wasted.

Every team is built differently. We have a cheap quarterback which saves us 30 million a year to spend elsewhere. We chose offensive line and went from bottom 10 to top 10 in one year. Good use of our money. If we bring on a stud DL in free agency with Brown back our D line instantly improves and run defense is a strength instead of a huge weakness. Brandt has a plan to fit everything under the cap while getting rid of dead cap money like Moton's instead of kicking it down the road. I get you have been traumatized by past mistakes and that is understandable but I think we are in a better position this year than in the past. If he can do half of what KC has done while he was there we are clearly up and coming. You have to live in the present and move forward instead of living in the past which has been very rough on all of us. And bringing up past mistakes with a new regime is living in the past and not always germaine.