4 realistic goals for Panthers GM Scott Fitterer in 2023 free agency
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers make money readily available
Things are tight from a financial standpoint for the Carolina Panthers right now. Spotrac has the franchise sitting at $9.56 million over the cap, which is not an ideal situation for general manager Scott Fitterer entering his first season as the team’s personnel shot caller.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. The Panthers can adopt the current trend around the league of kicking the financial can down the road by releasing players or restructuring some lucrative contracts for players like D.J. Moore and Taylor Moton.
Having more than $28 million in dead money already thanks to trading Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson is another big reason behind such few resources being available. Although these moves bolstered draft capital and can come off the books in 2024.
If the Panthers want to hit the ground running under Frank Reich, they have to make money available for signings, extensions ahead of time, and retaining free agents. Fitterer will lean heavily on Samir Suleiman throughout the process, who has gained an outstanding reputation in league circles for his salary-cap management behind the scenes.
It’ll be interesting to see what moves are made before and during free agency. But spending huge sums might not be a realistic option when it comes to marquee names looking at the bigger picture.
Next offseason, it’s a different story.