Panthers attempting to trade Steve Smith.

[OchoNueve]

I am in complete and utter denial until it happens. 

[Salvo]

I'm always about the team before the individual. So I have no problem with the direction Carolina is taking. Just wish they would have handled it better is all...

[philp]

Steve Smith is the reason I'm a football fan and a Panthers fan. Easily the most electric and exciting player I've ever had the privilege of watching.

Honestly, I'm disgusted with the organization right now. A couple million in cap is your excuse? For what? So we can sign some useless scrub that wont see the field?

I hope Steve goes to a contender and I'd honestly want to see him win a ring before he retires MUCH more than I'd wanna see the Carolina Panthers win a championship in that same span of time.

Well if he leaves, you can join him. We'll still be here.

[grateflday]

I am going to trust Gettleman on this one. I do not really get it though, should it occur.  I do not see how Smitty wouldnt excel as a #2, playing mostly from the slot.  I think he would better than anyone the Panthers put there, and still be a top WR in the league.  Unless he doesnt really want that, but it seams like Smith would be pretty happy playing here in that role.  

 

Again, this is one we on the outside are to detached from.  Its an NFL decision and in Gettleman we must trust.  I will not like it ... for sure.   

[IGSaint]

Why not try to trade our crappy Running Backs with huge salaries first???  DWill, JStew, pick one, trade them for a 7th

 

If you consider our Running Backs crappy, why would anyone other teams trade for them and their huge salaries? Those teams might as well keep their draft picks and pick up one in the later rounds. 

[Clicheking]

not going thru 40+ pages.......but I don't want to envision a team that Smith isn't part of.  On the business side, cutting Smith  doesn't make sense dollar figure wise. On the football side his skills haven't diminished as much as some try to protray and I think he can still be a valuable weapon.  I really hope they work something out. 

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

Well if he leaves, you can join him. We'll still be here.

 

I wouldn't be a football fan, let alone a Panthers fan if it wasn't for Steve.

 

Of course I've been a fan of this squad since I was... Sh*t man. Eight years old? But I think it's pretty shitty of an organization to cut any guy who is undoubtedly their best all time player. Not even let him walk or something on agreeable, mutual terms, but cut outright while he's still on contract? I don't dig it at all.

 

Steve is a Hall of Fame talent, but he needs to be a Super Bowl champion on a quality team if he wants to make it there.

 

The Panthers still have years and years of glory left to win a SB in. Steve only has a few. Steve > Panthers right now.

[Fox007]

Dunno how i'm going to feel seeing the Panthers take the field sans one SS

[Keep Steve]

I'm always about the team before the individual. So I have no problem with the direction Carolina is taking. Just wish they would have handled it better is all...

The sad thing is it makes sense. I doubt they will be able to trade him unless there is some crazy contract swapping stuff.  It is all on Cam's shoulders now.

[SIGCHI222]

The very reason we love SS89 is the very reason he will not be a part of this team in 2014.  He is a no-frills, no bs in your face motherfather with a Napoleon complex that served him well at 28 but has run its course.  Gettleman obviously offered him a low-ball contract which he refused (which as I said previously as heard on WFNZ he would) and so here we are.  Steve has held his breath and Gettleman is not buying it.

A 35 YO WR with ever-diminishing skills with an ever-increasing salary cannot coexist in today's market if you want to win in the future.

 

If we were the Raiders with $60 mill in cap space this might go differently, but we are not.

 

Even with a sport that doesn't have a salary cap, Dale Murphy was cut loose.

 

 

I'll take "FA, DG and the 2014 NFL Draft for the Future" Alex.

[Gucci Mane]

Do you know how June 1st cut works?

 

Yea dude its on the same site i got that information from

[Salvo]

I like what Gettleman has done here but getting rid of the best and most beloved player in team history is still a mistake. He is the iconic Panther. I know he's due $7 million but quite frankly for what he done for the team for so long I almost think he deserves it. Even if he's not as good anymore he carried the Panthers for a long long time. He had a few opportunities to leave yet stayed on a very reasonable contract compared to other WRs.

 

They better trade him to a contender. Get Manning and Brady on the phone.

 

Technically, we're a contender as well...but I guess that's beside the point, huh...

 

I understand the notion that "we were a contender because of Smitty", but to what point? Gettleman has some balls to do such a thing, but what's his next move after this?

 

This poo happens. It was a shock to the system when Kasay was released and it's going to be another blow when we lose Smitty. Carolina is still a young team in the grand scheme of things so losing iconic players like this will be difficult to deal with in the short run, but it plays well in line with how the NFL is run these days...for better or for worse.

[jdpanther5]

Trying to make sense of this from a cap standpoint... (probably discussed throughout, but I like putting my thoughts in writing).

I could be wrong, but at this second Steve's cap hit is $6m ($4m base + $2m bonus). This number is moot, however, because if he's on the roster July 1 that tacks on another $1m for each of the next three seasons (duration of contract).

So if we keep him, it's $7m this year, $10m the next, and finally $12m the final year. Presumably, if we move him it'd be prior to the extra million being added, but $7m is the cost of having Steve play this season.

A regular cut would accelerate the bonuses ($2m * 3yrs) for a cap hit of $6m, however $3m of Steve's $4m 2014 base is fully guaranteed, thus making the cost of cutting him $9m in total. So, a loss of $2m as opposed to keeping him.

In a trade, the bonus money would also be accelerated (again $6m) but this is where it gets more dicey. I would assume his new team would take on the $3m guaranteed of his base, so that wouldn't hit us as if he were cut. So in this case it seems we'd save $1m and possibly gain another asset. However, I'm not certain how the July 1 bonus would be influenced in a trade, and whether we'd be on the hook for any of it.

Final option would be an early Post-June 1 cut (or not early if they wanna wait a few months, though I doubt they'd do they out of respect to Steve). This would cause a cap hit of this season's bonus money plus the guaranteed portion of his base salary ($2m in bonuses + $3m in base) for a cap hit of $5m this year. This has the most immediate 2014 savings ($2m vs the cost of keeping him) but accelerates the remaining two years of bonuses ($2m * 2yrs) onto next year's cap.

Again, I may be misinterpreting some of the details but - if this is accurate - it's obvious to see why a trade would be more beneficial than cutting him. While a June 1 cut offers $2m in savings vs $1m credit in a trade, the trade wouldn't add on future dead money (barring effects of the July 1 bonus that I'm unaware of), unlike the June 1 cut option which would add $4m of salary next season.

Of course I'd rather just keep him since the gains from cutting him are so minimal, but we'll see I guess. Sorry if I'm just rehashing something, couldn't read the whole thread.

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[Rise of The Hive]

It sucks but he will play with a chip on his shoulder next season (wherever he lands) and fug stuff up.