8 former Carolina Panthers still looking for a new team in 2021

Kawann Short – DT

Kawann Short was cut loose by the Carolina Panthers after two seasons frustrated by injury and saved them more than $11 million in the process. The defensive tackle was one of the best in the business when firing on all cylinders. So it is something of a surprise that the Pro Bowler hasn’t landed on a new team as yet.

This has everything to do with the fact that Short featured in just five games over his final two seasons in Carolina. He is reportedly fully recovered from shoulder surgery that was behind his most recent trip to the reserve/injured list. But considering the current financial state of affairs across the league and his lack of ability to stay healthy of late, a team-friendly deal with incentives is probably all anybody is willing to offer at this juncture.

Whether Short is willing to accept such an offer remains to be seen. But if he wants to play next season, the lineman may not have a choice.

Tahir Whitehead – LB

There was some hope that Tahir Whitehead could be a nice short-term option for the Carolina Panthers following the retirement of Luke Kuechly, although replicating the perennial All-Pro’s production and overall influence was simply out of the question.

However, it didn’t take long for the cracks to show.

The former Temple standout simply didn’t do enough to warrant anything like an extended stay. Whitehead was inept in coverage and provided little in the way of run support before he was finally benched in favor of Jermaine Carter.

Stepping into Kuechly’s shoes was never going to be easy. But considering how poor Whitehead actually was, it might see teams think twice about bringing him on board.