5 Carolina Panthers players on the hot seat this offseason

Which Carolina Panthers players are on the hot seat this offseason with a new general manager now appointed?

The wait is officially over.

Scott Fitterer was appointed general manager of the Carolina Panthers on Thursday evening, accepting a five-year deal with the organization after wowing owner David Tepper and Matt Rhule during two quick interviews earlier in the week.

Getting the job was the easy part.

Now the hard work begins.

As Rhule stated in his exit presser, this is one of the most important offseason periods in franchise history. The Panthers made a promising start to life under the former Baylor man. But much more will be required in terms of reinforcements over the next few months if Carolina wants to make further strides and become a playoff challenger in 2021.

Let’s take a look at five Panthers players who may just find themselves on the hot seat this offseason with a fresh set of ideas entering the front office.

Player No. 1

Michael Palardy – Carolina Panthers P

Michael Palardy missed the entire 2020 season with a non-football injury after tearing his ACL. Although this was seen as a blow at the time, the stellar production of rookie Joseph Charlton could mean the veteran punter might be shown the door in the coming weeks.

This is all part of the cutthroat nature of the NFL business. Nobody will know that more than Palardy himself and whether he comes back to full health or not, the decision may have already been made thanks to Charlton’s ability to come up with the goods despite his inexperience at the next level.

Releasing Palardy before the final year of his contract represents a saving of just over $2 million. Considering the financial predicament that NFL teams are going through with COVID-19 revenue losses, this seems like a no-brainer.