5 roster moves that could instantly save the Panthers $26 million
By Dean Jones
Cut Stephen Weatherly
- Cap saving – $5.95 million
Stephen Weatherly worked hard to emerge from a seventh-round pick to earning a starting job with the Carolina Panthers this offseason. The defensive end played extremely well for the Minnesota Vikings before he was made an offer too good to turn down in free agency despite Mike Zimmer’s wishes to keep him around.
Carolina was expecting Weatherly to become a solid partner for stud young edge rusher Brian Burns on the opposite side of the defensive line. But the former Vanderbilt standout got off to a rough start and things didn’t get much better before he was eventually placed on the reserve/injured list.
This disappointing first season with the Panthers could see Weatherly fail to see out the two-year contract he penned with the team last spring. Releasing the player would save Carolina $5.95 million of salary-cap space, which does seem like an attractive proposition considering how little he contributed in 2020.
Weatherly was deserving of a shot to prove he was more than just a rotational role.
However, it might just be that he slots back into a complementary piece with another team next season.
There is still plenty of value in that. And Weatherly has already proven his worth in this particular role throughout a five-year career so far.