What's next for Carolina Panthers?

What's next for Carolina Panthers?
Free agency begins Friday, so more moves expected this week
Written by Steve Reed
2/23/2009 1:41:41 PM

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CHARLOTTE – With Jordan Gross getting a new six-year contract and Julius Peppers tagged as the franchise player you might be asking what’s next for the Carolina Panthers?

While the team’s coaches, scouts and front office personnel are spending the early part of the week in Indianapolis evaluating the top draft prospects at the NFL Scouting Combines, there are some other issues on the team’s plate with free agency set to open Friday.

Here are some of them:

1. Which players will they cut?

Because they’ll have to carry Peppers’ $16.683 million contract on their salary cap – at least until he’s traded – the Panthers have to be thinking about opening some salary cap room. And that means cutting some players. Cornerback Ken Lucas is the obvious target of speculation given his team-high $5.6 million base salary and his age (30) and dropoff in play last season. Others who could be looking for work soon are linebacker Landon Johnson and receiver D.J. Hackett.

2. What to do with Jake Delhomme?

Another way to free up cap room is to restructure some contracts. By restructuring quarterback Jake Delhomme’s deal the Panthers can reduce his $5.235 base salary, although that likely may mean giving him a contact extension. That might be a hard sell to some fans following given Delhomme’s six-interception performance against Arizona in the playoffs. However, you have to look at the big picture and take into account Delhomme’s win-loss record since 2003, which is pretty impressive. But it might not hurt to inquire about a trade for Cleveland’s Derek Anderson as a possible long-term replacement for Delhomme, now 34. Another player who may get his contract redone is defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu, who carries a $3.9 million base salary in 2009.

3. Which unrestricted free agents do they re-sign?

They’ve re-signed Gross and franchised Peppers, so the hard work is done. That leaves Geoff Hangartner as the most valuable of their soon-to-be unrestricted free agents -- and he’s a backup. However, Hangartner has played extensively over the past few years and the Panthers would love to have him back to compete at right guard and add depth. But Hangartner could look to sign elsewhere for bigger money and a chance to start. Among the other UFAs who will hit the free agent market Friday include returner Mark Jones, long snapper Jason Kyle, linebackers Adam Seward and Donte Curry, defensive tackle Darwin Walker and offensive tackle Frank Omiyale. All are backups or special teams players, so there are no pressing needs to re-sign them.

4. Which restricted free agents get tenders offers, and how much?

Generally speaking, the Panthers have tendered most of their RFAs in recent years. This year, look for tight end Jeff King, a three-year starter, to get the second round tender of $2.2792 million, while linebacker James Anderson, safety Nate Salley and defensive tackle Gary Gibson will likely get the lower tender of $1.545 million or no tender at all. If another team were to match the lower tender the Panthers would then have a chance to match it. The other option is to not tender them at all and allow them to become free agents.

5. What exactly is an acceptable offer for Peppers?

The Panthers would love it if another team signed Peppers to an offer sheet, but that’s not likely since it would require giving up two first-round picks. It’s more likely the Panthers will lower their asking price and work out a deal with another club (preferably one from the AFC) for a little less than that at some point down the road. It does the Panthers no good to keep a disgruntled player who wants out, so it’s hard to imagine him playing here next season.

6. Which players do they target players in free agency?

Given their investment in Gross and Peppers, it’s tough to see the Panthers being big players in free agency, at least early on. Still, the team has needs to fill at defensive end (if Peppers leaves), cornerback (if Lucas is cut) and defensive tackle, among others. On offense, they could also use a pass-catching tight end and possibly a receiver. Like the NFL draft, the Panthers have been studying free agents for months, so they already have an idea of what they want, but they may not attack until the so-called “second wave” of free agency.
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