5 early releases that could help the Carolina Panthers in 2022
By Dean Jones
Which veteran players released early ahead of free agency could become major assets for the Carolina Panthers in 2022?
As the free-agent period draws ever closer, teams across the league are currently making moves to put themselves in the best possible position. Contracts have been terminated ahead of time, players traded for capital and other pieces, and some were allocated the franchise tag to prevent them from hitting the market.
The Carolina Panthers managed to tie down some depth chart pieces such as Ian Thomas, Julian Stanford, and P.J. Walker. They also extended Zane Gonzalez and Frankie Luvu – two players that could be set for key roles next time around.
Carolina also freed up some important cap space by restructuring the contracts of Shaq Thompson and Taylor Moton. But whether they can attract the right sort of pieces to the organization in its current state is a franchise-altering question that could go either way.
Matt Rhule is clearly on the hot seat and the pressure is on to start putting some wins on the board. Team owner David Tepper won’t want to be embarrassed after deciding to keep the head coach around, so anything less than playoff football simply won’t do during Year 3 of his tenure.
It appears as if some prominent veterans will be departing, who will need to be replaced as a matter of urgency. There is also the ongoing speculation surrounding Sam Darnold and whether the Panthers can get themselves an upgrade somehow.
The last few days have been interesting and what comes next will be even more so. Here are four early releases that the Panthers could definitely use in 2022.