NFL.com's Panthers Offseason Forecast

[micnificent28]

Pretty sure Cam Newton would disagree with calling Greg Olsen 'overrated'.

What is the qb suppose to say? I be cam would say he isnt overrated either if his only other options are a 35 year old receiver and a guy who is a cast off from the 49ers. There is a large difference between elite and what olsen is capable doing. He's above average. Thats it. But he will never be gronk gram davis and so on. He's not really a te just a tweener.

[MadHatter]

Are they high? Olsen on the way out? Not a chance lol. How could you possibly type that after just going over our receiver situation?

Because he is an above avg TE carrying a huge cap numbers. Sometimes players like that DO end up cap casualties.

I expect them to extend him and get that number down.

[MHS831]

Olsen needs to restructure yet again this offseason.

 

He is making too much for the productivity.  Still our best option as a pass receiver now.  Maybe if we add a couple of years--I expect him to be solid until he is 33 or wo.

 

If we draft a #1 and move smitty to the slot, you will see 3 positions upgraded.

[Evengelion]

If we can upgrade the offense with some playmakers we can afford the secondary to suck for one more year. A good offense will allow the defense to play with a lead like it did most of last year.

[panthers55]

Olsen is going nowhere. We can extend him to reduce his cap by at least 3 million.  If you cut Godfrey you save several more million.

Hardy won't be tagged.  If we can't sign him long term we will let him go.  We can't carry a franchise tag of 12 million.  if we sign him long term his cap this year will likely be half that.  The same with Cam.  He already counts 7 million against the cap right now for 2014.  We can sign him long term and have a cap hit of 7 million  in 2014.

You give Gross a 3 year extension for 12 million with a 6 million signing bonus with the idea that he will play 1 or 2 years at the most so you can spread out the cap hit and he can retire after then or before without giving you a crazy dead cap space hit.  His cap hit could be 3 million in 2014.

That will give us roughly 13 million to sign FAs not counting our draft picks.

 

What most sports analysts and folks here assume is that a 5 year 50 million deal means that the cap hit would be 10 million a year and that isn't true.  The cap hit in year 1 could be anywhere from 5 million to 10 million or more depending on what is guaranteed and whether it is front loaded or back loaded.  But because the player gets the whole signing bonus up front, the salary part is usually very minimal in year 1 and pretty doable in year 2.  In year 3 and beyond it gets steep but then you can cut them or extend them or restructure.  

[IamSoClutch]

Olsen ain't never going anywhere, he named his son after JR for goodness sake

[jbland]

Wow had no idea Olsen made that much bank... Can't just drop our top receiver though.

He's not going anywhere. Earlier in the season there was an article about how much he does behind the scenes. It would be nice if hen restructured though.

[panthers55]

He's not going anywhere. Earlier in the season there was an article about how much he does behind the scenes. It would be nice if hen restructured though.

If you restructure you push some of this years costs to next year which doesn't really work since his contract only extends through 2015 and his cap hit for next year is already 7 million.  If you extend him you lock him up for the rest of his career and you reduce his cap hit in half for this year and some for next year.

As for those earlier posters saying he is overrated, give me a break.  He is the best TE we have had since Wesley Walls, who wasn't a great blocker either.   He is very good and would be better if we had another one to complement him.

[OneBadCat]

Edwards will have to go. This is why you draft players. He's expendable at his price.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Olsen is Overrated in my eyes as a TE. The guy is closer to a WR than aTE. He's not much of a redzone threat and he's not a very good blocker and has nothing after the catch. I like him as a catching option but,i don't think he's worth 8 million a year. I'm not saying he's not a good player or push him out the door but come on something needs to be done.

 

This is a great assessment.  But from a team standpoint we need someone to replace him and he arguably is the most reliable receiver (pass catcher) we have. Seems to have found a nice niche and here and fits in so I hope he will restructure. 

[jbland]

If you restructure you push some of this years costs to next year which doesn't really work since his contract only extends through 2015 and his cap hit for next year is already 7 million. If you extend him you lock him up for the rest of his career and you reduce his cap hit in half for this year and some for next year.

As for those earlier posters saying he is overrated, give me a break. He is the best TE we have had since Wesley Walls, who wasn't a great blocker either. He is very good and would be better if we had another one to complement him.

Sorry, I shouldn't elaborated. Restructure him while adding a couple of years on.

[TheRed]

Olsen isn't going anywhere. 

[panthers55]

Sorry, I shouldn't elaborated. Restructure him while adding a couple of years on.

The term gets tossed around a lot so it wasn't just for you but to clarify the issue.

[Kurb]

Extend Olsen = Low Cap #