Monday, February 11, 2013
Who will Carolina re-sign?
By Tim Kavanagh
Like every other NFL team, the Carolina Panthers have a long list of players with expiring contracts this offseason, and decisions must be made on them by a new front office led by GM Dave Gettleman. These decisions could be influenced by the cuts that Gettleman and his staff make, as there have been numerous reports that several of the club's highly paid players may be on the chopping block in the coming weeks.
The list of impending free agents on the Panthers' roster in 2012 includes QB Derek Anderson, DE Antwan Applewhite, TEs Gary Barnidge and Ben Hartsock, DT Dwan Edwards, S Sherrod Martin, CB Captain Munnerlyn, WR Louis Murphy, OG Mike Pollak and LB Jordan Senn. And in the opinion of ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas, it's not a definite that any of them will be brought back:
Pat Yasinskas
Looking at Carolina's free agents"There’s not a single name on that list that the Panthers have to keep, although there are several role players that could have increased because the team is going to have to part with several veteran starters to get under the salary cap. Applewhite, Edwards and Munnerlyn are likely to be the top targets for retention. But Munnerlyn, who the Panthers prefer to use only against slot receivers, believes he can be an every-down corner and may try to find a team that will use him as a full-time starter. Martin is a former starter, but his career might be better off with a fresh start elsewhere. Anderson has been a veteran backup for Cam Newton the last two years, but I don't think re-signing him is a high priority. The Panthers also have Jimmy Clausen under contract and, by now, he should know the offense as well as Anderson."
