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Carolina Panthers Top 3 Offseason Priorities

Jeremy Igo

By Jeremy Igo,
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Jeremy Igo

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Now that the Carolina Panthers offseason has begun, it is time to look ahead to the team's priorities. 

 

1. Josh Norman will receive the franchise tag paying him 14 million. Dave Gettleman won't sign Norman long term, although it could be easily argued Norman has earned it. Instead, he will be franchised for at least one more season. This is not ideal for either party, Norman or the team itself. But, this is sometimes a necessary evil in today's NFL. Yes, Josh Norman gets a nice pay check for a year. The problem for him is he is coming up on 28 years of age and could risk being injured this season. That would mean an unlikely top paying long term contract in 2017. There is a risk here for Norman to lose tens of millions of dollars overall in his career. Keep an eye on this. It is possible Norman could demand a sign and trade to a team that can afford his services long term, like the Oakland Raiders for instance. 

2. Shore up the pass rush. Dave Gettleman told us this in so many words at his press conference yesterday. Kony Ealy showed tremendous promise in the Superbowl with a performance on par with the Superbowl MVP Von Miller. Ealy is just now coming into his own, and like Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy, could break out in his third year in the league. Charles Johnson will either be released or will be extended at a very cap friendly deal. Normally I would say Johnson would be released for sure, but his relationship with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has me second guessing it. There isn't a stronger mutual player/owner respect in the league. Look for the Panthers to make a strong push in free agency for an up and coming player or spend one of their top 2 draft picks on a defensive end. Remember, free agency sets up the draft. 

3. Find your future runner. Gettleman told us one of his three pillars of a winning philosophy is running the ball. Jonathan Stewart will likely be retained for one more season, but after that the Panthers currently do not know who their future feature back is. Cameron Artis-Payne saw mixed results during the season, showing an issue holding on to the ball. Brandon Wegher they like, but the fact that he was only active for one game tells me they see him as a long term backup. Does this mean that both have no shot at being a feature back? Of course not, but it does mean that the Panthers will look to minimize the possibility of not having a true feature back in 2017 and even 2016 if Stewart is injured. I can easily see the Panthers signing a quality free agent runner or spending a top 3 pick on a running back. 

 


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Jeremy Igo

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1 minute ago, Cracka McNasty said:

Point 2 if - Johnson doesn't take a pay cut he's gone. The stuff about his relationship with Richardson is irrelevant considering Gettleman already axed Smitty, who Richardson loved.

Gettleman trims fat and it got us to a super bowl. 

That is what I was saying. I think the strong relationship they have is the reason he may get an offer for a cap friendly deal. If not for that relationship, he would be axed immediately. 

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Adb6368 Proficient

Adb6368

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It would be a little disappointing if Wegher never turns out to be more than a backup considering we wasted a spot on the roster every single game for him. With all the injuries we battled through this year I can only assume that it could have been used on someone that could have shored up a weak spot during some of our games. With that said, I can't imagine us keeping him on the actual roster and not placing him on the practice spot if we didn't see more than just a backup role for him in the future.

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36 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

1. Josh Norman will receive the franchise tag paying him 14 million. Dave Gettleman won't sign Norman long term, although it could be easily argued Norman has earned it. Instead, he will be franchised for at least one more season. This is not ideal for either party, Norman or the team itself. But, this is sometimes a necessary evil in today's NFL. Yes, Josh Norman gets a nice pay check for a year. The problem for him is he is coming up on 28 years of age and could risk being injured this season. That would mean an unlikely top paying long term contract in 2017. There is a risk here for Norman to lose tens of millions of dollars overall in his career. Keep an eye on this. It is possible Norman could demand a sign and trade to a team that can afford his services long term, like the Oakland Raiders for instance. 

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Seems like it would be in everyone's best interest if JNo signs a 4 year deal here for a hometown discount, that pays him $9-10 Million a year. We get him for a relative bargain and he gets financial security. If we end up tagging him...sure he gets $14 Million but with no other guarantee. Maybe he has a sub par year, maybe he gets hurt. He will also be going on 30 this time next year, will other teams be willing to pay shell out top flight CB money to a 30 year old CB? I think Revis was about 30 when he got his last deal...but will JNo really command Revis money?

I trust your sources just thinking out loud.

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Honestly I believe that Johnson and Allen are gone it frees up 19 million in cap room. Jared has beed inconsistent as well as Johnson hurt. I believe tha it would be better to send that ship sailing. I also believe that we need to to add one more wide reciever. Alshon Jeffereies would be wonderful with KB, Funch, Ginn and Brown ..... I believe that we do also need to look at Olivier Vernon from Miami in free agency as another pass rusher to create domination on the Defensive side. J-No will get the franchise tag, because that how Gettleman works. Plus J-No can stay humble and prove that this years was not a fluke. Overall we have a helluva young squad, and these additions will only fuel a fire after losing the big kahuna. My only worries are with Tolbert and Tillman. I like them but something tells me that Gettleman will break our hearts in that area. BTW how do you guys feel about McClain and Finnegan?

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d-dave Veteran

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Honestly, I don't see how you can let Norman walk.  Sure, tag him this year, but Josh has to be realistic about his future prospects.

On one hand, he could sign the tag, then try work out a deal to move him in some way.  That's a loss for him and us.  That's a bad deal.

He plays through a tagged year, but at the end of it, he's still 29, got a $14 million pay day last season, but has zero future income.  How many teams are going to go to the bank for a 29 year old CB?  I guess we'll see.

Working something out.  So I think we can all agree, he mad the best business decision by turning down the $7 million a year deal last summer.  So now he should be paid like one of the top guys in the $12-15 million a year by virtue of his production alone.

For a long term deal there has to be a balance of the money in early years versus later years.  4 years/$50 million is a real possibility I could see.  Give us more flexibility after he's 30.

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    • SmokinwithWilly
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      By Icege · Posted

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    • PNW_PantherMan
      Adam Theilen said he came back to play with Bryce, and he expects the Panthers to surprise some people

      By PNW_PantherMan · Posted

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