Before the season begins, I wanted to highlight some of the activities the Carolina Panther players and organization participate in to give back and make a difference in the community.  I feel like we do not get to hear enough about the good things that they do.

Charities

The Panthers participate in several charities:

• Carolina Panthers Scholarship fund:  They award 2 scholarships a year to one male and one female student athlete for graduate school.  The scholarships are awarded based on “leadership, citizenship, and academic merit” per Panthers.com.
• Community Grants: The panthers give funding to non-profit organizations that meet the needs of communities throughout both North and South Carolina.
• Carolina Panthers Sam Mills Memorial Scholarship: This scholarship is for outstanding high school students who need assistance for college.

There are several other charities that the organization participates in conjunction with the NFL.  Information on these charities can be found on Panthers .com.

Foundations

Quite a few Panther players have created foundations for their favorite causes:

• Cam Newton Foundation:  According to the foundation website at camnewtonfoundation.org the mission of the foundation is to enhance “the lives of youth by addressing their social, emotional, educational, and physical needs.”  The organization accomplishes this by hosting programs like a 7 on 7 football tournament and Personal appearances by Cam.  To see the faces of the kids he meets and speaks too, makes this a worthwhile organization.
• Jon Beason MLB Foundation:  This is another foundation geared toward making the lives of youth better.  They also host several programs like the Back to School Blitz, Hit the Books, and College Bound.
• Thomas Davis Defending Dreams Foundation: The mission of this foundation is to give at risk youth a chance at building character and leadership skills to be successful in society.
• Greg Olsen Receptions for Research: Provides funding to hospitals and for research to help those afflicted by hobbling diseases.

Yes the Panther’s very own “fiscal cliff” seems to be the biggest issue facing the team. Not the problems with the secondary, or the age of our defensive line, or even the age gap in the offensive line. No, the biggest issue facing the Carolina Panthers, and more importantly, Dave Gettleman is the fact that the Panthers just don’t have money to spend anywhere.

The NFL projected a league wide salary cap of 120 million dollars. The Panthers have 136 million dollars tied up in previously made contracts for the 2013 season. It doesn’t take a math major to figure out that the two numbers don’t exactly match up. So expect to see more faces leaving the Panthers locker room instead of coming in.

December 18, 2011; Houston, TX, USA; Carolina Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble (20) warms up before a game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

So to reach the cap limit, the Panthers are going to have to trim the fat so to speak. According to Steve Reed with The Associated Press, “When Gettleman begins breaking down the numbers he’ll find a Carolina team that has $63.25 million in salary cap space committed to six players – defensive end Charles Johnson ($13 million), Gross ($11.7 million), Gamble ($10.9 million), center Ryan Kalil ($9.95 million), Beason ($9.5 million), and Williams ($8.2 million). Quarterback Cam Newton ($6 million), receiver Steve Smith ($5.75 million) and tight end Greg Olsen ($5.7 million) account for an additional $17.5 million in cap space.”

“So essentially two-thirds, or $80 million of the team’s salary cap is slated to go to nine players.”

That’s quite a lot of money tied up in nine players, granted some of those players are key players, who contribute a lot to the Panthers as a team, but some of those contract deals were unneeded. The contracts that stand out to me as unneeded are those of Chris Gamble, Jon Beason, and DeAngelo Williams. All three players have been sidelined for the majority of the season, Gamble and Beason for injuries and Williams was just flat out replaced about three games into the season.

Beason and Gamble have lost a ton of cache with the coaching staff and fans. Both players were replaced by rookie players this season after they suffered season ending injuries. Kuechly performed past all of my expectations with a fantastic rookie season. Gamble was replaced by rookie Josh Norman, who took over his spot as the Panthers number one cornerback. I wouldn’t say that Josh played better than Gamble, but he made a pretty good case for the position.

Out of the two players, Beason is more likely to stay. It has been said in the past that he is a fast learner, and is willing to take over James Andersons spot as an Outside Linebacker, leaving our starting Linebacker Unit with three great, proven players, Davis, Kuechly, and Beason. Gamble doesn’t have much of a reason to stay with the Panthers. I expect him to become a free agent, since he is in the last year of his contract, and our secondary has been taken completely over by young players. I project the starters to be Josh Thomas and Josh Norman taking the cornerback positions, and D.J. Campbell and Sherrod Martin in the safety positions, and maybe a rookie could be put into that mix-up, who knows. However all four of those players have eight years of experience between them, while Gamble has ten years by himself. His time as a Panther is more than likely done.

Dec 16, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) runs the ball during the third quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Now Williams is in an interesting position. He played his best football of his career at the end of the season, which is exactly the opposite of the numbers he put up at the beginning of the year. The Panthers do have two very competent players with him in the backfield alongside of Williams, Stewart and Tolbert. Either way I wouldn’t mind seeing him stay. The fans love him, he has one of the best-selling Panther’s jerseys in history, but he might leave because we have a lot of money tied up in his contract. Either way, his position with the team is very interesting.  Only time will tell what the future has in store for DeAngelo Williams.

Dave Gettleman is up to the challenge, and I have faith in him. I watched his press conference, and if first impressions were any indication of how he will pan out for the Panthers franchise, he will do just fine. This draft will be his litmus test for the young GM and I trust him implicitly!

Kevin Liles-US PRESSWIRE

Ron Rivera dished out some more bad news regarding Beason’s injury status for Week 7 after telling The Charlotte Observer that he is “very doubtful” for Sunday’s encounter against the Dallas Cowboys and running back DeMarco Murray. The ‘Boys have one of the worst interior offensive lines in the league, which is something the Panthers can still take advantage of Sunday.

Even worse, Rivera placed shutdown corner Chris Gamble under the “very doubtful” tag, and both star defensive players could be placed on the IR if things continue to stagnate on the injury front for them. The Panthers have already lost one of the top centers in the league in Ryan Kalil for the entire season, so losing both Beason and Gamble would be an even more crushing blow from a talent and leadership standpoint.

Beason has not practiced all week.

At the cornerback position, Captain Munnerlyn has really taken a step forward and is developing into a cornerback most of us thought/hoped he could be. He’s enjoyed a very successful season thus far, and that’s crucial without Gamble who has been out since Week 4. Munnerlyn has stepped up big-time in the absence of Gamble. Josh Thomas starts opposite Munnerlyn and rookie Josh Norman plays in nickel situations, per the Observer.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.