Path to $30m+ Cap Space in 2023

[Waldo]

Stay or go, whatever. If someone offered a solid trade we would be dumb not to take it but I also get not forcing it. Keep the young guys on rookie contracts and vets are worth discussing. 

[ForJimmy]

I’m not wanting to do any restructures if possibly. Trade Shaq (if you can) and extend Burns to a lower hit. This year will be about getting our rookie and HC acclimated and next year should look better for FA spending to plug around our new QB.

[Khyber53]

Sure, we can make the team better by getting rid of the leader on defense, short-changing the only decent WR we have and how about we jettison CMC, too? 

There are other ways to skin this cat and better ways for sure.

We just got rid of 138 lbs of dead weight in Robbie Anderson. That's a start. 

But we can't just gut the team of good, experienced players and expect to compete again in the next four years.

We have a core now, heck we even have two good lines. Our  linebackers show some promise. Our DBs can be very good, if they can stay healthy. We have one really good WR and some pedestrian ones. We have one of the most dynamic RBs in the league and some solid back-ups behind him. 

We don't have a QB, we need a TE, a WR2 (Chinnault might be that guy, tho) and a good slot guy who isn't wearing #22. We've got an ace punter and two good kickers. We need a new coaching staff, better front office people who are more savvy than suckers and better medical trainers.

[Icege]

Been one of the biggest Shaq supporters (and general optimists) on the board and even I can see the writing on the wall.

Outside of another restructure for what will be a 29yr old LB next season, I don't see them keeping Shaq. I hope I'm wrong, but we also have Brandon Smith that I thought was brought in as a replacement. Whether or not he gets a chance to play and shows that he can fill those cleats though we will have to wait and see.

[UNCrules2187]

14 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Sure, we can make the team better by getting rid of the leader on defense, short-changing the only decent WR we have and how about we jettison CMC, too? 

There are other ways to skin this cat and better ways for sure.

We just got rid of 138 lbs of dead weight in Robbie Anderson. That's a start. 

But we can't just gut the team of good, experienced players and expect to compete again in the next four years.

We have a core now, heck we even have two good lines. Our  linebackers show some promise. Our DBs can be very good, if they can stay healthy. We have one really good WR and some pedestrian ones. We have one of the most dynamic RBs in the league and some solid back-ups behind him. 

We don't have a QB, we need a TE, a WR2 (Chinnault might be that guy, tho) and a good slot guy who isn't wearing #22. We've got an ace punter and two good kickers. We need a new coaching staff, better front office people who are more savvy than suckers and better medical trainers.

A base salary restructure means we take DJ's 2023 salary of ~$19.5m and bring it down to the vet min and pay him the difference as a bonus that's prorated over the remaining years of his contract. He doesn't lose any money, in fact he gets it quicker. And the only move I made that takes someone off the roster is letting go of Shaq, which for better or worse, I believe is 100% happening. The leaders of this defense will be Chinn, Burns, Brown, and Horn going forward anyway.

Edited October 18, 2022 by UNCrules2187

[Peon Awesome]

Yeah I think the bottom line is that our cap situation is fine. Anyone worrying about out lack of cap space next year doesn't understand how the cap works. We will get well under it very easily without making a single difficult cut. The real question is how. I'm ok with all your suggestions although I'd prefer to see if Shaq would take a team friendly extension. Why not add 2 years and $4 million to his current contract and turn it into a 3 year, $28 million deal? Basically you ask if you'd rather pay Shaq $11 million to not be on your team or $9 million each for the next 3 to be on your team. Granted he might say F you and happily prefer being cut than staying with this organization, but I'd at least try. The question is what can Shaq expect to get as a free agent if we cut him. More than 3 years $17 million (which is the added money if he takes our extension rather than being cut)? Plus there's some comfort in not relocating your whole life. I feel like that's a win win. 

[CanadianCat]

48 minutes ago, FugginPoo said:

Losing Shaq highlights need for good draft picks as we will need to find his replacement soon and ideally in the draft 1st or 2nd round.  
Should’ve traded him and got Parsons over horn last year

Im getting sick of this Parsons over Horn argument already.. Horn is an ELITE CB that this team desperately needed. This place would have lost their damn mind if we would have drafted a LB last year. 

The whole "i would have drafted 'x' player" argument always drive me damn crazy.  

[Toomers]

15 minutes ago, Peon Awesome said:

Yeah I think the bottom line is that our cap situation is fine. Anyone worrying about out lack of cap space next year doesn't understand how the cap works. We will get well under it very easily without making a single difficult cut. The real question is how. I'm ok with all your suggestions although I'd prefer to see if Shaq would take a team friendly extension. Why not add 2 years and $4 million to his current contract and turn it into a 3 year, $28 million deal? Basically you ask if you'd rather pay Shaq $11 million to not be on your team or $9 million each for the next 3 to be on your team. Granted he might say F you and happily prefer being cut than staying with this organization, but I'd at least try. The question is what can Shaq expect to get as a free agent if we cut him. More than 3 years $17 million (which is the added money if he takes our extension rather than being cut)? Plus there's some comfort in not relocating your whole life. I feel like that's a win win. 

   Please teach me how the Panthers are going to improve at the multiple positions that need filled. I’ll give you a QB and starting LB(at 32). That leaves….

  WR2-3, TE, C, DT, DE, LB and anything representing quality depth. 
 

   And is it smart for a team to spend all they can while rebuilding so there is no room to improve when/if you hit on a QB? 

[Call Me James]

We don’t have the picks and we aren’t a desirable FA destination.

no need to stress the cap like this

[SetfreexX]

10 minutes ago, Toomers said:

   Please teach me how the Panthers are going to improve at the multiple positions that need filled. I’ll give you a QB and starting LB(at 32). That leaves….

  WR2-3, TE, C, DT, DE, LB and anything representing quality depth. 
 

   And is it smart for a team to spend all they can while rebuilding so there is no room to improve when/if you hit on a QB? 

Honesty, with DJ, TMJ, Shenault, Higgins, and Smith we have a competent WR group, FA or depending on if we trade back in the 2nd could see someone added. QB play / OC improves this dramatically.

TE - I think FA is still an option, but again QB play / OC is the primary issue.

DT - Brown is proving to be ''elite'', McCall has been a good space eater (listed at 380 on some sites), adding a guy via FA is likely, I wouldn't be surprised to see an Io extension. 

DE - Depends on the front you want to run, 43 or 34, we won't know until we have a new coach, likely addressed via draft. Barno adding to his frame is a potential option he has the same measurables as Burns.

LB - Shaq, Smith, Luvu, off ball LB'ers are relatively cheap, and also not hard to find day 2 / 3 of the draft. 

Again, the off-season, cap, and draft pick capital are fluid, it's silly to ''worry'' about the 2023 Off-season / Draft''. Fitterer and Morgan seem sharp, I think we will be surprised by how this off-season goes. 

[Peon Awesome]

8 minutes ago, Toomers said:

   Please teach me how the Panthers are going to improve at the multiple positions that need filled. I’ll give you a QB and starting LB(at 32). That leaves….

  WR2-3, TE, C, DT, DE, LB and anything representing quality depth. 
 

   And is it smart for a team to spend all they can while rebuilding so there is no room to improve when/if you hit on a QB? 

Your assessment of what we need is assuming we've maximized the talent of our current roster. Do you agree our coaching staff sucks? If so, how many of the things you mentioned do we actually need vs how many players' talents are being squandered by coaching ineptitude? I mean what combination of Tremble, TMJ, Shenault, Shi Smith, Cade Mays, Haynes, Hoskins, Roy, McCall, Brandon Smith, and Barno can't fill at least half of that, especially with functional coaching. Also if you're worried about depth, that's what the draft and cheap free agency signings are for. Those don't break the bank. A QB in the 1st, good coaching staff and then fluff out the roster as needed with free agency and rounds 2+ of the draft is really not a tall task. A rookie QB also is huge for cap room. We'll be flush for years until they're due for an extension, assuming they deserve one.

[Toomers]

3 minutes ago, SetfreexX said:

Honesty, with DJ, TMJ, Shenault, Higgins, and Smith we have a competent WR group, FA or depending on if we trade back in the 2nd could see someone added. QB play / OC improves this dramatically.

TE - I think FA is still an option, but again QB play / OC is the primary issue.

DT - Brown is proving to be ''elite'', McCall has been a good space eater (listed at 380 on some sites), adding a guy via FA is likely, I wouldn't be surprised to see an Io extension. 

DE - Depends on the front you want to run, 43 or 34, we won't know until we have a new coach, likely addressed via draft. Barno adding to his frame is a potential option he has the same measurables as Burns.

LB - Shaq, Smith, Luvu, off ball LB'ers are relatively cheap, and also not hard to find day 2 / 3 of the draft. 

Again, the off-season, cap, and draft pick capital are fluid, it's silly to ''worry'' about the 2023 Off-season / Draft''. Fitterer and Morgan seem sharp, I think we will be surprised by how this off-season goes. 

Your WR are near bottom of the league. One guy is proven and he’s expensive and seemingly lazy. Not one of the others has done anything to show they can start for an NFL team. 
 

TE-awful

DT- McCall isn’t playing many snaps, if at all, for a team with options. He’s a backup at best. The rest are nothing. Need a starter besides Brown, and some depth. 
 

DE- You need players either way. 5 techniques in 3-4. A LDE that can hold up vs Run in 4-3. 
 

LB- Assuming Shaq is gone. That leaves Luvu. And…….

 

Fitterer and Morgan were here when this mess was built. Why is it silly to worry about them doing it again?

[Toomers]

10 minutes ago, Peon Awesome said:

Your assessment of what we need is assuming we've maximized the talent of our current roster. Do you agree our coaching staff sucks? If so, how many of the things you mentioned do we actually need vs how many players' talents are being squandered by coaching ineptitude? I mean what combination of Tremble, TMJ, Shenault, Shi Smith, Cade Mays, Haynes, Hoskins, Roy, McCall, Brandon Smith, and Barno can't fill at least half of that, especially with functional coaching. Also if you're worried about depth, that's what the draft and cheap free agency signings are for. Those don't break the bank. A QB in the 1st, good coaching staff and then fluff out the roster as needed with free agency and rounds 2+ of the draft is really not a tall task. A rookie QB also is huge for cap room. We'll be flush for years until they're due for an extension, assuming they deserve one.

 So you’re lesson about the salary cap is “if you hope hard enough, all the players that suck now will be good with a new coach”.  Can’t argue with pure fact like that. 

How does that usually work out for the Panthers? 

[UNCrules2187]

9 minutes ago, Toomers said:

Your WR are near bottom of the league. One guy is proven and he’s expensive and seemingly lazy. Not one of the others has done anything to show they can start for an NFL team. 
 

TE-awful

DT- McCall isn’t playing many snaps, if at all, for a team with options. He’s a backup at best. The rest are nothing. Need a starter besides Brown, and some depth. 
 

DE- You need players either way. 5 techniques in 3-4. A LDE that can hold up vs Run in 4-3. 
 

LB- Assuming Shaq is gone. That leaves Luvu. And…….

 

Fitterer and Morgan were here when this mess was built. Why is it silly to worry about them doing it again?

The WR room is not bad. DJ and Robbie each had 1,000+ yards with Teddy Bridgewater. DJ had 1,000+ with Sam, PJ, and Cam last year. The QB and the OC are horrendous. If Daboll and Mike Kafka can get offensive production from Daniel Jones and a WR room that includes *checks notes* Richie James, David Sills, and Darius Slayton, I think a competent offensive minded coaching staff can do a lot more with DJ, Shenault, TMJ and Shi.