Questions leading up to the draft

[CRA]

At minimum we will trade them for a 7th. Theres no way we cut Dwill, it would hurt our cap more than keeping him.

We are in a bad cap situation in 2013....but it is worse in 2014.

Cutting guys and moving on NOW....IMO will be done with 2014 in mind. Fan favorites will be leaving

[Frizzy350]

1. My biggest question is how much input will Rivera have in this draft being it is produce or perish this year? Or is he a lame duck?

Rivera will work with Dave to make the selection. Rivera has been coaching this team for 2 years, he's the guy who knows what positions are currently our biggest liability.

2 Who will be the most likely cap causalities? I see Gross, Gamble, R Edwards, and Anderson as potential causalities.....I do not see us keeping both Gross and Gamble ..my bet is we retain Gross.If we lose Gross we will need to replace him with a 1st round pick

Tough question. Garry Williams and Nakamura are most likely to be cut, they flat out suck. Ron Edwards will also probably be cut, due to his contract and age.

I'd hope to see Gross willing to make a big restructure for this team, we horrendously overpaid him at signing time (he was a good tackle, but we all knew he would never be able to play like that contract implied - on say a Walter Jones/Orlando Pace/Jon Ogden level).

Gamble i could see being traded for a cruddy pick like Asante was to the falcons. Maybe he'll restructure, but I don't see him being here next year. Maybe we cut him and re-bid on him in FA at a contract half the size he's currently earning? Still... he's most likely gone.

The mess at linebacker: TD will be here next year. If there is one guy the Panthers can count on to do whatever it takes to get on a field in a Panthers Uni, its him. He's also our best coverage LB, the fastest and best tackler next to Keek and our best blitzing LB. What happens with Beason and Anderson completely depends on how much they want to play for. Between Keek and Davis alone we have absurd closing speed and coverage ability in our LB core and I think having a good Sam is a luxury we can afford to lose.

The mess at runningback: I have a freaky feeling Williams is going to be willing to restructure. Whether he does or doesn't, I think double trouble is broken up this year, and I think Jstu gets dealt for maybe a 3rd rounder or an average starting caliber player. Why Jstu? He has more trade value (he's younger and has eye popping strength and speed, the Raiders have his phone on speed dial) and has an easier skillset to replace. Tolbert can fill the same role of Jstu - picking up blitzes, catching screens, bulldozing defenders, etc. Williams skillset is much more unique and an immediate replacement is not on the roster.

3.Which one of our FAs do we try to retain? I hope like hell it is D Edwards or we will need at least to spend a 1st or 2nd at UT.

Dwan and Capt.

4. Can we afford or risk not taking a wr in the 1st or 2nd round? If Smitty goes down our season will be over for sure

If we address our other needs we will be fine. WR isn't a necessity, but it would be a great luxury. We still have Olsen and Lafell and a handful of young receivers with potential. Assuming our line is fixed, our running game should be dynamite (In Cams rookie year our team had 2100 rushing yards, AP brought his team to the playoffs this year with those kind of numbers).

If somehow Warmack drops to us or we pretty much know for sure a guard we REALLY like will be around for our 2nd or 4th rounder pick we might end up taking a wideout in the 1st or 2nd. Many also talk about how deep this draft is at WR, so we may go trenches rounds 1 + 2 then WR in the 4th.

5.What impact player in the draft will give Rivera the most production? Does Gettleman care or is he building toward the following year? This off- season should demonstrate if they are connected at the hip or is this the second coming of the J Fox 2010 lame duck season award ?

If we were aiming for a lame duck season (aka, set up Rivera for failure) we wouldn't have given him this year.

6.Is anyone curious as why Gettlemen has not brought in a staff to speak of?

He needs to see whats currently in place, and as others have said we will see moves in management around May.

7.Can anyone see a scenario where we can avoid multiple cuts to stay under the cap? If yes please show your math

If we can convince a lot of highly paid players to restructure or flat out take pay cuts, yes, but I don't see that being realistic.

8.We need at least a OG, back up qb and safety to even show up next year...how can we make the cuts for the cap and fill these positions?

I don't think a back up qb depends if we show up or not next year. If our backup quarterback needs to regularly see the field, our season is over. No Cam = No Chance.

I have no idea what we can do about safety, if you want to be cheap we can roll with Godfrey/Campbell (seemed acceptable) or we can give Martin another shot. Maybe we roll the dice on a low tier FA or possibly go after a nice prospect in the draft (for some reason I dont see us drafting a S in rounds 1-2).

9.If we let R Edwards go can we stop the run and get some push without drafting a NT?

Right now? No. Rivera will find an under appreciated DT that can be acquired for little to nothing and he will play well enough and hold the point of attack. This is actually something Ron has shown he's capable of doing.

10. Will this draft be about putting the final pieces in place or replacing cap causalities?

Depends on what you mean by cap casualties. I feel most of the guys we lose that are cap casualties will more or less be luxuries that we can't afford. So for instance if we choose to part ways with Beason or Anderson, I doubt we would draft a linebacker outside of the 6th/7th round. If we parted ways with Gross, then we probably would look to take a tackle early in the draft. Overall I'd have to say it's to find the final pieces.

If someone can answer these questions I will then be ready to give my mock draft

[KJ89]

Nvm

[Frizzy350]

We are in a bad cap situation in 2013....but it is worse in 2014.

Cutting guys and moving on NOW....IMO will be done with 2014 in mind. Fan favorites will be leaving

Are you suggesting we get rid of both our runningbacks?

[CRA]

Are you suggesting we get rid of both our runningbacks?

No.

But the GM is going to have to start working on the mess we have in 2014 as well....