Warford’s salary demands out of Carolina Panthers’ reach
By Dean Jones
If the Carolina Panthers were looking to make a move for offensive guard Larry Warford, his reported demands could put them out of the running.
The Carolina Panthers have made some moves to sure up their offensive line this offseason. But the recent release of Larry Warford still makes for an enticing proposition for the franchise.
The guard parted ways with the Panthers’ NFC South rival New Orleans Saints last week to instantly become one of the most coveted names on the free-agent market. There is expected to be plenty of interest in Warford services after a standout career to date.
Warford received a 73.1 grade from Pro Football Focus in 2019 after allowing just two sacks in 970 snaps played. He represents an instant upgrade on what the Panthers currently have at their disposal despite the offseason signings of John Miller and Michael Schofield.
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According to Ian Rappaport of NFL Network, Warford is looking for a salary of around $7 million per year to sign with a new team. This will not come as good news for the Panthers, who are really up against it from a salary cap perspective thanks to an extortionate amount of dead cap money totaling $48.1 million.
If this were the 2021 offseason, then acquiring Warford would be a much more enticing prospect. He is arguably one of the best players operating at the guard spot throughout the league and is equally adept at imparting a game in either running or passing downs.
The Panthers have just $6.84 million in cap space remaining and have only signed No. 7 pick Derrick Brown from their rookie class. Most of this spare money will be allocated to incoming college recruits. So it would be incredibly surprising if Carolina made another bold free-agent move before training camp gets underway.
If a contending team is looking for reinforcements on their offensive line interior, then Warford could be just what they need to get them over the hump. The Panthers are not going to mount anything like a challenge in 2020 during the first year of a rebuild. This seems to indicate the free-agent lineman might not even accept an offer if the organization was even in a position to make one.
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New head coach Matt Rhule is going to have to work with the tools he already has at his disposal. The current group of lineman cannot do much worse than the dismal showing displayed in 2019. But whether they can become a cohesive unit with little practice time together remains to be seen.