4 Panthers players who must be re-signed this offseason

Taylor Moton – Carolina Panthers OT

Back in December, members of the Carolina Panthers’ front office made it clear that it is going to be extremely difficult to retain both Taylor Moton and Curtis Samuel. After the Week 17 loss to New Orleans, Matt Rhule didn’t too optimistic that both will be back next season either.

With that being said, the debate between keeping Samuel or Moton really appears to be an either/or situation.

Seeing as though the upcoming draft is loaded with wide receiver talent, as well as the fact that D.J. Moore is setting himself up for a major pay-day in the near future, it makes Samuel seem more replaceable, with all due respect.

Meanwhile, the Panthers haven’t had a franchise right tackle since…ever?

Daryl Williams had a good season back in 2017, and Mike Remmers hung around for a while. But neither were nearly on Moton’s level.

The former second-round pick was the only offensive player to play every snap in 2020 for Carolina, and he did so while playing good football. Since taking over at right tackle in 2018, Moton has never been ranked outside the top-17 among all offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus. In his four-year career, he has allowed only 10 sacks and been called for 10 accepted penalties, despite not ever missing a game and playing more than 3,200 snaps.

Moton is likely to receive a deal worth around $15 million, according to Spotrac, and could be franchise-tagged for a similar price. Under normal circumstances, the team would have much more flexibility to re-sign both him and Samuel. However, due to loss of revenue thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league-wide salary cap is projected to drop significantly for the first time since 2011.