SetfreexX

If we're being smart about this, the BEST move is retain Cam because Jimmy G, and Kirk C are not vaulting us to ''playoff'' caliber teams. When was the last time the Vikings were in the playoffs, two years, or was it three years ago with Diggs? Looking at SF they have one of the better running games in the NFL, a top two TE, and an Deebo solidifying himself; add to that a great defensive front (Bosa, Armstead, Greenlaw, Warner) -- we can't boast that atm. So that brings you back to why waste draft capital on a guy that isn't a ''difference'' maker? Cam is the bridge QB if he returns, Sam becomes tradeable while we eat cap space. Sign some real quality OL, and let Brady man the LT spot and give the team a puncher's chance with a vet QB in Cam WHO has won in this league, and have the rookie (Willis my preference over Pitts due to upside) waiting and learning, and if / when the team is out of playoff contention the rookie closes out the season, and we keep all our picks heading into 2023.

You're missing the point, with the voidable years when we have over 100M, and 200M in 23, and 24. The point of that is in those years you will eat some dead money, but with the COVID cap hit issue you could not avoid that and teams, aka all teams had to account for it. No one is calling it a viable strategy, as bad as Elf was Matt played well prior to IR. People are reacting like we're decades into ''moving cap'' down the road. The team is in good financial shape, yes they botched Darnold's 5th yeat, BUT I can understand why they did it when the ONLY other QBs at the time were Grier, and PJ. Point being is, we have the cap to move it forward, and we couldn't go into 2021 w/o a C, his original deal was inked before anyone knew a thing about Covid in Cam's last season starting in 2019. There was not a lot of options in that regard.

One, I was referring to moving salary into 23, and 24 for Moton, and Shaq, secondly, that's still better than having all those things count towards the cap we had available prior to restructures. People need to also remember on extensions the big money DOES NOT have to be in the first year aka 2022, those guarantees can be spread out over the contract -- as bad as Shaq's deal was in some people's eyes, he never counted more than 10M, 7M and 8M were they other hits. This year the 1st year BIG money set in he could have been cut and saved 5-6M, instead he's restructured, is retained AND the team still saves that 5-6M. It's all about how the money is manipulated, and where it is manipulated, it's where Samir's value is felt the most, having an ''expert'' in that dept. I'm not a Rhule fan, but the way the team has operated in regard to money and where it is / goes under Fitterer and Samir has been fairly impressive. I mean in a cap strict year in 21 for the ENTIRE NFL, we added a good amount of FA's that worked, and others that did not (Erving / Elf) -- none the less, what's important is they maneuvered the cap efficiently.

Those years on Paradis' deal are voidable, aka he won't see that money.

My guy, those are voidable years, we did the same for Reddick -- https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/matt-paradis-14618/ So bringing up Paradis in this light doesn't really serve your comment very well. That is not a restructure -- it's ''fake money'' years to spread out a signing bonus. It's why they are referred to as ''voidable''. A voidable year is an ‘extra’ year on the length of the contract that the team and the player intend to void. In other words, it is a “dummy” year on the contract that the player will never play or get paid for, and it exists for the sole purpose of lowering the annual cap hit, especially in the first year of the contract.

Here's our estimated cap space in the upcoming years: 2023 - 110M -- https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/cap/2023/ 2024 - 276M -- https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/cap/2024/ Obviously signings / extensions / etc. will happen over the course of this year and moving forward, but moving calculated money down the road on cornerstone players isn't going to hurt. What you can't do like the Saints is do that while ALSO paying premium for a QB. IF we get lucky and draft a good QB the team / cap is in great shape.

I don't think people realize how much cap space we have since we're not paying 25, 30, 35M + for a QB, and if we add a rookie this draft or next, moving ''SOME'' money to 23, and 24 is NOT going to hurt anything.

Because he was about to count as 18M for the 2022 season after costing 10/7/8 the three prior years, IF he had been released it would have created 6M in cap. *Rounded numbers above for simplicity* Details here on his cap hit prior to this announcement -- https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/shaq-thompson-16749/ It'll be interesting to see the results of this.

https://www.panthers.com/news/panthers-restructure-shaq-thompson-contract-2022-offseason The Panthers continued to work with the numbers Monday, restructuring another deal for a veteran to create some more salary cap flexibility. The team restructured the contract of linebacker Shaq Thompson, clearing some more space under the cap for next year.

For an added bonus, Frankie Luvu had the following in spot duty -- https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3127273/frankie-luvu 11 Stuffs** 26 solo / 43 combined 1.5 sacks I'm not comparing them directly, just pointing to as a run defender Luvu would project to be better, I liked Hassan's Role and I think he excelled at it for us, but he's not a ''run stopper'' but he can ''hold up vs the run''.

I'm pretty sure sacks are apart of that equation, the metric you'd want to know is TFL's in the run game aside from those that were a TFL due to a sack. Since he had 11 sacks, 11 of those TFL's could be contributed to the sacks. He is credited with 8.5 ''stuffs'' (I am guessing this refers to actual run related tackles for loss) per ESPN.com -- https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/2980504/haason-reddick Yet as a guy in the box only tallied 37 solo tackles, and 68 combined tackles (Chinn broke 100 for the 2nd year in a row combined, and he had split duty), so while the pressure & sack production was there; some of the other stats leave you at the very least with questions about Reddick's game as a whole; which is why a team very well may over-pay him due to ''sacks'' but I could also see him not having a crazy market like last year, and that is likely what Fitterer is betting on.

He did, he basically mirrored his rookie season, contrary to popular belief he still spent time near the LOS, he just ALSO had MORE deep middle responsibility this year with injuries / personnel issues at at that spot. Sean Chandler spent a good amount of time as FS as did Burris when not injured.

To me 9/10 times a 6th round pick is somewhat a throw away pick, of course there are examples every year of a 6th or 7th having a good year, but good guys that fall that far generally have red flags. I don't have an issue with the trade, we took a calculated risk in this case, monitor his health up close, and how he fit in here with first crack at re-signing him. If we don't it's not a huge deal to me. IMO the trade that NEEDS to work out is Henderson, a 9th overall selection that we gave up the 3rd for, and a TE. I think we got a 4th or 5th back, but the point is THAT is the scenario to have your eyes on. IF he can reach his potential alongside Horn, that is a hell of a duo, both with size, and the ability to cover 1 on 1 and not be outmatched physically....see Donte' similar to Reddick he's a niche corner, I think he's good in coverage, but not a true #1 given he's 5'10, and a buck 80. He was a 2nd round pick for a reason, he's BEST suited for the sub 6' WR's. You can't ask him to defend a Metcalf, Evans, Thomas type as we've seen they man handled him...he's too small for that at the catch point.

Heavier, and likely stronger.... Seems you're a fan of ''the kid'' and that's fine, but you can't ignore, or well I suppose you can simple things like his size disadvantage. He's not worth a top 10 pick; could he be a good Center sure, but this isn't 1970 from a size perspective.

Until he's facing a NT in a 3-4 that is 320, 330, 340+ that is also strong in his own right, and out weighs ''the kid'' by 20, 30, or 40+ pounds. You asking him to block a guy like Derrick Brown 1v1 It's not metric obsessed, I didn't mention his arm length as a concern, and even consider him a first two days prospect, but being that light in the a** while being asked to anchor an IOL on an NFL team at ''that weight'' and being worth the #6 pick....nah.

As you all know the primary FA's are - Reddick (12-15M) / Gilmore (18M) / Jackson (7-8M) Those are just my rough estimates based on things I've seen over the years -- feel free to check Spotrac or OTC for estimates, I just wanted to provide a point of reference as after the Moton restructure, we are around 26M in cap space. With that in mind, here's what we have left: DL - Brown / Roy / Fox / Nixon DE / Edge - Burns / Yetur Gross-Matos Off Ball LB - Shaq / Luvu Corner - Horn / Henderson / Bouye / Taylor -- Pride / Hartsfield / STO III Safety - Chinn _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ That is not a bad ''cornerback'' room, plenty of young talent with a veteran presence for stability, not to mention the ''low key'' return of Steve Wilks -- IMO that was a great hire. Edge / LB'er are thin as far as depth, but those are positions that are normally relatively cheap when looking at reserves ''if'' you think Yetur is ready to step into a full-time position year three which should to some degree be an expectation as he's built similar to Hardy for those that aren't aware, a little longer maybe just looking at him and tested as a better athlete overall. Interior DL / Safety to me still remain my bigger concerns, we have to find a partner for Chinn, and could use more on the IDL to help support Brown. I do think we will retain one of those three guys mentioned at the top, and I hope it's Reddick, I think him with the group above has the ''most'' sensible impact / fit. I have a hard time seeing him getting Von Miller type money on the open market, no one was willing to offer it last year, and the staff here knows his skill set best, he's been kind of a volume guy (he gets sacks in bunches) then can sometimes feel less impactful. I think that will hurt him (see the 5 sack game vs NYG in 2020 as an example of this) that one game was almost half his sacks in his final season with ARI. He had a game or two like that for us as well which led to some ''where is he moments'' he had ''7'' games with no sacks, but he had ''5'' games with 1.5 - 2 sacks. Games he had no sacks -- DAL / MIN / NYG / MIA / ATL / both TB games Common theme in those games, all losses, in the five games he had the 1.5-2 sacks -- we won them all except versus PHI. I say all that to say that I believe he's worth re-signing, BUT he's not THE guy as far as a pass rusher is concerned IMO weight added or not, he's a niche player and teams usually pay them less, not to mention guys his size / skill set are usually littered throughout the draft.

Not even the arms, that man only weighs 291... That is small as hell for an interior OL And some of ya'll wanted him at #6, FFS Not saying he isn't worth a selection before the conclusion of Day 2, but his size is a ''?'' to me, of course he can add weight; but that would take a while for the weight / strength / athleticism to match up.

I'm all for Rhule slander, but on THIS roster who you really trusting as the FS? Sean Chandler a 4.65 guy with limited range Juston Burriss a Corner turned Safety who been depth his whole career almost (see time with CLE Browns) as a 4.53 guy (at least more respectable) Hartsfield an UDFA became the nickel due to suspension (Bouye); and was hurt himself later on, and played HB some in 2021. And no one here liked Tre' Boston there and even so he was cut. So really Chinn ''based on the roster we had'' he was the least likely to give up big plays deep. I think it was more necessity, than idiocy in this case. He did spend some time in the box though not as much, I'd anticipate an addition of a FS to free Chinn up some more. 2020 - 117 tackles, 1 INT, 1 sack 2021 - 107 tackles, 1 INT, 1 sack (The production was there, just not in the same fashion / impact) The Christensen stuff was complete and utter idiocy, as was the handling of the QB position.

Been saying THIS for a minute, Cam was always the PERFECT bridge QB and was cheaper than TB the year he was released. Allows the team to compete at a high-level while not FORCING the issue with a rookie. People forget Tannehill earned an extension before Gase, he was ALREADY consider good in MIA. Darnold has / had NOTHING but bad tape with some highlights sprinkled in. The fact these morons traded 3 picks for a guy likely to be released as he was in his 4th year, and no future guarantees on a team that was taking a QB #2 continues to remind me this FO / Staff didn't have a clue wtf they were doing. I am concerned that they STILL don't know wtf they are doing, and are reluctant to make ''common sense'' decisions.

Did we meet with Fields...? *Real question, not sarcasm*

Why would you not though...opportunity is opportunity take it while its there.

You still need good players under contract for the future.

IMO, bring Cam back if he's willing, best man in camp wins it out between him and Darnold, unless we can find a salary dump off for him. Trade #6 to add a future 1st, while recouping Day 2 capitol to allow more flexibility versus having to wait until 100. I don't think there are any ''sexy'' options this off-season because they went into panic mode when the trades for Stafford / Watson fell through / SF traded up to #3. Then panicked again while 3-0 when Jaycee went down. This team has been reactionary since Rhule has been here, there does not seem to be a clear plan in place, with the ability to execute it, so going into year 3 I expect even more frustrating disappointment.

If a team traded for CMC, AND took the guaranteed money we're looking at less pick value and that is not worth it as the trading team is going to look at picking up the guaranteed money as trade value give to us as well. Trading CMC is not the option, fielding a competent offense is, and trading #6 would recoup more value than trading a back that's on a big deal, has several years left, and finished the last two years on IR.

The most efficient option is to sell the pick, if we get anything similar to what was received for #6 last year, then do it so long as we stay in the top 15. Take BPA / OL / QB, and use those additional picks as chess pieces in the draft to continue to build out OL depth as we will only be so active in FA based on our ''current'' cap situation as of 2/15/22. That trade should secure a future first, so if we can get Willis, add OL on Day 2, or even trade newly acquired Day 2 picks to add more Day 2 / 3 picks to continue to build out the roster. If we don't take a QB, we'll have ammo in 23' with that future 1st + our own to make a move IF needed.