Why haven’t the Carolina Panthers paid Taylor Moton yet?
By Dean Jones
Why are the Carolina Panthers waiting?
As stated previously, the Carolina Panthers don’t tend to begin negotiations with their out of contract stars until the season finishes. This is something of a dangerous strategy and one that has backfired on occasions. But they have all the power regarding getting Taylor Moton to commit.
For now, at least.
Keeping Moton around is not going to be cheap. Spotrac projects the lineman to command an annual salary of $16.3 million per season when it’s time for negotiations to began and if the Panthers are smart, they’ll give in to any demands he has.
Players like Moton don’t come around every day. Carolina deserves credit for seeing his potential coming out of college, which will count for nothing if he’s allowed to walk in free agency.
There is also the possibility of the decision-makers placing the franchise tag on Moton to prevent him from leaving for nothing. This has become something of a last resort and one which doesn’t sit too well with the player involved. So a move such as this could complicate matters even further.
Although it’s not time to legitimately panic just yet. This is a precarious situation and one the Panthers must get right.
Losing someone with Moton’s undisputed class would send out the completely wrong message and would result in deafening calls from the fans to relieve Marty Hurney of his duties.
The GM is already receiving heat for letting cornerback James Bradbery sign for the New York Giants and another wrong move would almost certainly come with no contract extension being offered by owner David Tepper.
This is a high-stakes situation for all parties, of that there is little doubt. But if the Panthers somehow blow it, then there will be no shortage of suitors for Moton elsewhere.