4 Carolina Panthers on the hot seat heading into 2023 offseason
By Dean Jones
Samir Suleiman – Carolina Panthers VP, Football Admin
Another offseason arrives for the Carolina Panthers with some financial hurdles to navigate. According to Spotrac, they are currently $9.56 million over the cap, which could restrict their ability to make the moves needed to excel under Frank Reich in 2023.
Of course, this is fixable. Contract restructures, early releases, and bargain hunting on the free agent market could save the Panthers money, but there is a lot of hard work ahead for those front office figures tasked with financial responsibilities.
Samir Suleiman is Carolina’s salary-cap guru and has a growing reputation in league circles. He’s been interviewed for general manager positions in the past, so another strong offseason of money management working alongside Scott Fitterer could be enough for an opportunity elsewhere.
The Panthers are largely in this predicament following their decision to trade Robbie Anderson and Christian McCaffrey before the 2022 deadline. This was done to recoup draft capital and provide long-term cap flexibility, but it comes with around $28.4 million in dead money next season.
Suleiman has some tough decisions to make before giving his opinion to Scott Fitterer. He received a well-deserved promotion last year to vice president of football administration, so the front office figure won’t want his career momentum jeopardized by fluffing his lines this spring.