Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Carolina's potential cuts
By Tim Kavanagh
The Carolina Panthers already have a player they believe is their franchise QB in Cam Newton, and are retaining their head coach Ron Rivera into 2013. So as they welcomed a new GM into the mix on Tuesday -- Dave Gettleman -- the former New York Giants employee doesn't have those big needs to fill.
However, as ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas notes, Carolina is in the red when it comes to the projected 2013 salary cap: with a cap number of around $120 million, the Panthers currently have $131.7 million committed. As a result, there will likely be some cap casualties in the near future.
It's all speculation at this point, but players like RB DeAngelo Williams ($8.2 million cap figure), OL Jordan Gross ($11.7 million), LB Jon Beason ($9.5 million) and CB Chris Gamble ($10.9 million) appear to be specific candidates that the team will approach regarding a contract restructuring that could provide cap relief; otherwise, the team could consider releasing them.
A lot of work to be done prior to the start of the league year -- the time by which these moves must be transacted -- and it appears Gettleman has his work cut out for him.
