4 remaining Carolina Panthers cap crunches after Damien Wilson release
By Dean Jones
What remaining salary-cap crunches must the Carolina Panthers consider making to strengthen their position ahead of free agency in 2023?
The Carolina Panthers are frantically trying to put themselves in a solid position ahead of free agency and the upcoming legal tampering period. This is always one of the busiest and most important stages of the offseason process, which could go a long way to determining how successful Frank Reich can become during his first season as head coach in 2023.
Dominos have begun dropping around the league now that the NFL Scouting Combine has concluded. The Panthers also made an expected move on Monday evening by relating veteran linebacker Damien Wilson after just one year according to Jordan Schultz of theScore.com.
Wilson came in under a cloud following his offseason arrest and was unable to fit in effectively. This saves the Panthers around $3.6 million against their 2023 cap. But more is needed for Carolina to emerge as an attractive free-agent destination.
With this in mind, here are four remaining camp crunches the Panthers must consider in the wake of Wilson’s release.
Cap Crunch No. 1
Carolina Panthers cut Pat Elflein
- Cap savings – $4.26 million
While Pat Elflein performed better than many anticipated last season before his campaign was cut short due to injury, it makes no sense to keep him around on his current cap figure. Especially if a contract extension is confirmed with starting center Bradley Bozeman.
Releasing Elflein with one year remaining on his deal saves the Carolina Panthers $4.26 million. Once Bozeman signs on the dotted line, this seems like a pretty easy decision for those in power.