I Hope Jerry Richardson Will be in a Giving Mood This Off-Season...

[joethoma]

Because next year is going to be one of the most pivotal years in the history of the Carolina Panthers. Some very important decisions need to be made which will determine whether or not we can be (and hopefully remain for several seasons) a playoff contender, and none of them come without serious financial implications.

The biggest failure of this franchise over the first 15 years has not been a lack of success (2 Conference Championships and a Super Bowl), it is has been a lack of sustained success. And that fact is the only blemish John Fox, who is a very good coach and the best Panthers coach so far, can not hide. And it is why I believe the Panthers need to move into a different direction next year.

The good news… As much as I hate the idea of not having a salary cap in regards to competitiveness and fairness, the Panthers have to be as happy as any team in the league right now that it appears there will be no new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place by next year and thus no salary cap for next year. The Panthers have created a cap situation right now that no one on the league would envy, and having a year to dump salaries with no real consequence would be a great thing.

Which brings me to Delhomme… As bad as the decision to extend him was (and it was bad), the Panthers can structure it so the only thing it really hurts is Jerry Richardson’s wallet. The Panthers can restructure his deal to pay out all the bonus money next year and if the Panthers dump him after next year, he will be off their books then. I do believe Jake will be back next year in a back-up role, and I don’t think that is the end of the world… Except that you’re paying a whole lot of money for a back-up, but what are you going to do? Best option now as I see it…

Which means they still have to get a starting QB, and I think there will be some decent candidates in free agency, with Jason Campbell at the top of the list in my opinion. He would be a good QB with a good O-Line, which we have. Again, Jerry is going to have to open the wallet, but if he wants to win he can next year w/o the same salary cap ramifications there normally are.

Still need a #2 receiver… Going cost again, but I for one would love to see Anquan Boldin, who wants out of Arizona, here next year.

Finally, the elephant in the room… Julius Peppers. The Panthers can pay him next year and he won’t handicap us the same way he did this year, but at approximately $20 million to franchise him you got to ask how much is too much. He is still the best DL on the team and still playing at an elite level when healthy. Tough call- I would like to see them franchise again and trade to the highest bidder (hopefully a 2nd rounder) so they can get something out of him, but it’s not my millions to burn if he ends up back here next year making well over a million per game.

Ultimately, I think the Panthers are in a tough situation, but the timing with an uncapped year couldn’t have been better in regards to them actually being able to get out of some of their financial mess. There still are the contract statuses of DeAngelo Williams, Thomas Davis, and Richard Marshall to address. Davis and Marshall will not be unrestricted FA’s due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but they all will be in 2011 as of now so they have to be addressed at some point. Also, JR will swallow another $5 million for Fox’s salary in 2010 if he dumps him plus the salary for the new coach.

So Jerry, how bad do you want to win? As fans, we can create scenarios all day long about what we would like, but JR is the only one who can pull the strings financially to make it happen…

[Snake]

I would imagine the Peppers situation could go in any direction next year. Depending on if we do not resign Fox and who is our next coach.