Bill Barnwell: what Gettleman should do

[TheSpecialJuan]

1. Franchise DT Kawann Short. Dave Gettleman finally has the cap room to really operate in the free-agent market, but the first thing he needs to do is retain his best pass-rusher. Short has turned into a devastating interior disruptor, leading the team in quarterback knockdowns each of the past two seasons while recording a total of 17 sacks. That's good for third among interior linemen after Geno Atkins and Aaron Donald.

Short is going to be looking for Fletcher Cox money in free agency, and when the Panthers decided to let Josh Norman leave last year, they were likely thinking about budgeting an appropriately sized deal for their Purdue product. Cox got $58.5 million guaranteed over the first three years of his new deal, and Short will try to hit the same sort of ballpark. Chances are that Gettleman will need to franchise Short for just under $13.5 million before using his leverage to find common ground on an extension.

2. Bring back either Mario Addison or Charles Johnson at defensive end. One of the other reasons the Panthers will want to bring back Short is to provide a base for their defensive line from the interior as they rebuild on the edges. Johnson took a massive pay cut to come back to Carolina on a one-year deal but delivered only four sacks; the standout was Addison, a perpetually underrated pass-rusher who produced 9.5 sacks in 13 games. Addison sacked opposing quarterbacks once every 30.9 pass-rush attempts, the fourth-best rate in the league among players with 200 attempts in 2016.

The Panthers started run-first end Wes Horton 10 times despite cutting him in September, and it's probably time for Kony Ealy's workload to grow as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, so Carolina probably wants to consider drafting a defensive end while bringing Addison or Johnson back. Of the two, Addison may be the more productive pass-rusher at this point, given that Johnson has averaged 4.5 sacks over the past three years while struggling to stay healthy.

3. Release RB Jonathan Stewart. A holdover contract from the dying days of the Marty Hurney regime, Stewart's deal has been restructured twice to create more cap space for the Panthers. He had the second-largest cap hit in football among running backs last year at $9.6 million but was essentially uncuttable because of all the restructuring; it would have cost Carolina $13.1 million in dead money to dump their longtime running back.

If the Vikings cut Adrian Peterson this year, Stewart will again have the second-largest cap hit in football among running backs, this time behind LeSean McCoy. The difference is that the Panthers can either choose to pay Stewart $8.3 million to play or eat $3.5 million to move on. Given that Stewart averaged just 3.8 yards per carry last season and hasn't played a full 16-game slate since the 2011 season, it's probably time for the Panthers to cut ties and draft Stewart's long-term replacement.

4. Re-sign G Trai Turner. The strength of Carolina's offensive line is on the interior, with center Ryan Kalil lining up next to Turner at right guard. The LSU product made his second consecutive Pro Bowl in 2016, and as he enters the final season of his rookie deal with a cap hit of $824,950, the Panthers will likely be earmarking a hefty raise for the 2014 second-round pick. Turner could be looking for Kyle Long-level money in free agency (nearly $26 million over the first three years of the deal). The Panthers will hopefully then address the tackle position in the draft.

5. Make a run at WR DeSean Jackson. Ted Ginn Jr. is a free agent and still reliant almost entirely upon his speed. Betting on the wheels of a 32-year-old player seems dangerous, and it's pretty clear that Ginn isn't suddenly going to develop great hands at this point of his career. Gettleman probably wants another deep burner for Cam Newton to target as the Panthers try to rebuild their passing game. Jackson will certainly be more expensive, and he's not that much younger (30), but he would represent a hefty short-term upgrade on the perennially-frustrating Ginn.

Another receiver the Panthers might target -- admittedly for entirely different reasons -- is Bills wideout Robert Woods. Carolina likes tall wideouts who are effective blockers, and the 6-foot-1 USC star is one of the best-blocking wide receivers in the game. He's worth more to the Panthers than he is to many other teams.

[TheSpecialJuan]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/car/carolina-panthers

[Shocker]

Wow, if 2 = Addison and #6 is Fornette and 7 = LT FA I totally agree.


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[Riverboat Ron]

Honestly wouldn't be surprised if we cut Stewart IF we draft Fournette. Otherwise why would you cut your above average RB? It's not like we have a star in the wings waiting and I honestly wouldn't put my trust immediately in the hands of a 2nd-ufa running back. 

[thennek]

I think if Stewart is not willing to redo his current contract than he will be cut. However, I think he wants to stay in Charlotte and I believe that he will. I'm also not a big believer in Ealy being a starter. Overall he has been a big disappointment. I do agree we need an upgrade at WR and need more speed. KB and Funchess are not getting it done....they are big but they are not fast.


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[LinvilleGorge]

If we draft Fournette, Stewart is probably as good as gone. However, if we don't draft Fournette, someone would have to clearly beat out Stew in camp.

[panther4life]

This guy gets it. 

He forgot to mention putting a 2nd round tender on Norwell so we can keep him but I agree with everything he did mention. 

Cutting Stewart isn't the huge loss many think it would be. Odds are we can find a better replacement even if we miss on Fournette. Still plenty of good backs in the draft. 

So funny nobody batted an eye when we let Norman walk over money but now think it's ludicrous to move on from Stewart because of money. 

We didn't have any heir apparent to Norman or even Tillman after he retired yet we managed to move on. 

[KSpan]

10 minutes ago, panther4life said:

This guy gets it. 

He forgot to mention putting a 2nd round tender on Norwell so we can keep him but I agree with everything he did mention. 

Cutting Stewart isn't the huge loss many think it would be. Odds are we can find a better replacement even if we miss on Fournette. Still plenty of good backs in the draft. 

So funny nobody batted an eye when we let Norman walk over money but now think it's ludicrous to move on from Stewart because of money. 

We didn't have any heir apparent to Norman or even Tillman after he retired yet we managed to move on. 

Norman and Stewart are two completely different situations. Norman was looking to land a big money deal that would kick in for the next half decade and Stewart has 1 year left on a deal that looks lopsided compared to positional cost across the league but is only half the value of what Norman was looking for. Apples and oranges.

[The Lobo]

There was a gentleman who called into Lebatards radio show during the season (week 9ish). He was saying why Jamison Crowder was so good was because of DJax. They would double and play a lb underneath him all the time because they were afraid of his deep routes. Thus, Crowder would get open a lot. Crowder is pretty good himself imo. Anyway, he then went on to say how Cam throws a fantastic deep ball and how DJax and cam would be a match made in heaven. 

I can't recall the fellas name but he calls in all the time and is a big number cruncher guy with states and such. Food for thought. Getting DJax would be a good thing. Plus, cam and him are pretty fond of one another if I'm not mistaken.

[Khyber53]

Taking care of Turner and Norwell right now are really the two biggest. Franchise KK if we must, but I wouldn't break the bank for a guy that was invisible for much of last year -- give him another year before we sign the long-term contract with big checks.

Keep  Stewart because there isn't anyone waiting in the wings now. Use him in a more traditional role by dropping the charade of the read option and watch his YPC go back up. Draft someone to back him up and groom to take over when he retires.

Bring back Mario with a longterm contract and set him up as our new Mike Rucker. Keep Johnson negotiating until after the draft, then make an appropriate offer based on need.

Lastly, don't go shopping for old guys to be #1 or #2 receivers. A good slot receiver with great hands, size and blocking ability along with a teaching mentality is paramount.

Lastly, and most important, get a Tackle in the first round of the draft. There are three really good ones and not picking one for fear of reaching will end up with Cam on his back more again next season.

[Saca312]

19 minutes ago, panther4life said:

 

Cutting Stewart isn't the huge loss many think it would be. Odds are we can find a better replacement even if we miss on Fournette. Still plenty of good backs in the draft. 

 

Yeah, cutting him means cutting the best blocking RB in the league. The only guy CLOSE to being an okay-NFL blocking back right now is Fournette, and even he has bad form that'll take a few years to edge out.

Stewart is more vital than you think. 

[chknwing]

if we cut stewart doesnt he have to be designated as a june 1st cut before the draft?  I know one of you have the exact details on this.

[SOJA]

Barnwell is a great writer and actually has a pulse on the Panthers, which is really surprising for a national writer. I mostly agree with him, except we aren't cutting Stew even with Fournette. Stew does too much in the passing game for us and it doesn't make sense financially to get rid of him this season. 

I'm torn on D-Jax. On the one hand- Cam would thrive with a true burner and I know he likes D-Jax. On the other he's inconsistent, can be petulant and I'm not sure if Big Cat would go for him. 

Robert Woods, however, is a guy I like. 

Also Norwell, Trai are a must figure out imo this offseason. 

[SOJA]

15 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Taking care of Turner and Norwell right now are really the two biggest. Franchise KK if we must, but I wouldn't break the bank for a guy that was invisible for much of last year -- give him another year before we sign the long-term contract with big checks.

Keep  Stewart because there isn't anyone waiting in the wings now. Use him in a more traditional role by dropping the charade of the read option and watch his YPC go back up. Draft someone to back him up and groom to take over when he retires.

Bring back Mario with a longterm contract and set him up as our new Mike Rucker. Keep Johnson negotiating until after the draft, then make an appropriate offer based on need.

Lastly, don't go shopping for old guys to be #1 or #2 receivers. A good slot receiver with great hands, size and blocking ability along with a teaching mentality is paramount.

Lastly, and most important, get a Tackle in the first round of the draft. There are three really good ones and not picking one for fear of reaching will end up with Cam on his back more again next season.

I was with you right up until the end