# Panthers 2014 Off Season thread



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

We did a good job of winning 12 games in spite of personnel deficiencies. The big FA's are Greg Hardy, Ted Ginn, Jordan Gross, Brandon LaFell, Mikiell, Mike Mitchell, Travelle Wharton, Graham Gano, Captain Munnerlyn. The truth is a lot of those guys need to be replaced by better players. 

I believe we have 17 million in capspace, but if we end up having to put the Franchise tag on him, Greg Hardy is going to end up eating all of it up. Cam Newton has two years remaining on his rookie deal, but we are going to try very hard to get him signed to a long term deal from what I understand.

We need help in a lot of places, the Defensive Backfield, the receiver corps and the offensive line are the obvious priority areas for free agency and the draft. I would suspect that the best player available when we use our first rounder is going to be a Wide Receiver. That appears to be the position of greatest depth in this draft.

Ideally the player who would help us the most would be a truly great Cornerback. If we could keep our front seven intact and fix the defensive backfield, then we could have a truly dominating defense.


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

Great site with an team cap overview if you're interested among other cool features. 

http://overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Panthers&Year=2014


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

I hope Carolina gets Kelvin Benjamin. 


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


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## LeGoat06 (Jun 24, 2013)

hobojoe said:


> I hope Carolina gets Kelvin Benjamin.
> 
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


I hope Dolphins get Freeman,Benjamin,Wilder Jr


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...-panthers-gm-dave-gettleman.html#.UuRH0bQo6Uk

Gettleman interview, not really saying much and that makes sense considering how much work he has ahead this off season and how difficult it is to predict how things will work out.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

2014 Panthers Opponents
Home
ATL
Saints
Bucs
Bears
Lions
Browns
Steelers
Seahawks

Away 
ATL
Saints
Bucs
Packers
Vikings
Ravens
Bengals
Eagles​


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/436962373207719936


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/25/4722850/carolina-panthers-jordan-gross.html

Not unexpected, but we already had O-line problems



> Offensive tackle Jordan Gross, a player whose name has been synonymous with the Carolina Panthers for more than a decade, has played his last snap.
> Gross, who went to the Super Bowl with the Panthers as a rookie and played in the Pro Bowl in January in his final game, has decided to retire after 11 seasons, the team confirmed Tuesday.
> Gross will address the media at an afternoon press conference Wednesday at Bank of America Stadium.
> 
> Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...-jordan-gross.html#.Uw0Sw4VnjdY#storylink=cpy​


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...as-davis-restructuring-give.html#.Uw0T34VnjdY



> Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman and salary-cap specialist Rob Rogers are at it again.
> The Panthers restructured the contracts of three veterans – center Ryan Kalil, running back Jonathan Stewart and linebacker Thomas Davis – in moves that created about $7.25 million in cap space.
> Gettleman asked seven players to rework their deals last offseason after he was hired, including those of Kalil and Stewart.
> *The Panthers are approximately $29 million under the projected cap of $132 million and could be clearing room to re-sign or put a franchise tag on free-agent defensive end Greg Hardy.*
> ...



Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...s-davis-restructuring-give.html#storylink=cpy​


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10471825/cam-newton-carolina-panthers-says-hold-new-contract
Cam is saying no hold out, this is old news. It is big though as we have enough issues.


> Cam Newton doesn't plan to pressure the Carolina Panthers into a long-term contract.
> Newton is eligible for an extension of his original four-year deal under the collective bargaining agreement. The Panthers also have the option of picking up a fifth-year option on the quarterback's current contract.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

Panthers resign kicker Graham Gano and franchise Greg Hardy.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

It looks like Steve Smith is done in Carolina. Attempting to trade him or else he will likely get cut.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

They might trade him, but cutting him does not save any money and at any rate they can not replace his production even at his age. Most likely they are saying they might cut him to try to get him to renegotiate his deal.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

I hope we can get a pick for his angry little ass.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Would have been great if this could have been done back when there were more players on the market. 



> Carolina Panthers free safety Charles Godfrey has restructured his deal to reduce his 2014 salary cap number by more than $4 million, a league source told ESPN.com. Godfrey, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the second game last season, was scheduled to count $7.1 million against the cap.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Kelvin Benjamin and Ealy Kony sound like they're really impressing in camp. 



> "Kony is an exciting young man, he has got something to him" said Rivera. "I'm excited to see him in pads once we get down to Spartanburg for training camp. You want to see guys improve from week one to week two and he is one of the guys that gets what we are doing."
> 
> Ealy fits the mold of a Ron Rivera defensive end. Like Greg Hardy, who has yet to sign a long term agreement, Ealy can play both defensive end and defensive tackle. Apparently, that is something Rivera already has plans for.
> 
> "He is one of those guys that plays multiple positions and we do that with our defensive ends. We are going to look at some of those things as we get further along. Probably in the next couple weeks we will see what he can and can't do."


If Ealy can adequately fill in for either Charles Johnson or Greg Hardy this season, it will free up tremendous possibilities next year in terms of cap room when one of those players are no longer on the roster and a looming Cam Newton contract.

And for our WR, he's just a monster. This is him with DeAngelo Williams. 










With Olsen, Benjamin and the other TE we picked up we're going to have some big targets for Cam to throw at, which is something he clearly prefers.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Bills preseason game thoughts..

Highlight recap:
Greg Hardy sack
Deep diving catch in the endzone by KB - this was beautiful
KK beasting
Webb 
King abusing Buffalo backup secondary
Bersin with some good looks
B Will with some major confidence boosting
Pass protection was better than expected

Lowlights:
Cason got picked on
Run D looked shaky
Josh Thomas
Barner
Blanchard
Special Team made a couple of mistakes


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)




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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

WR coach Ricky Proehl must be doing some real work with KB. Heard good things in camp too. He's showing exact opposite of the things that made me down on him coming out.


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