Carolina Panthers: No Short Sale in the Works
The Carolina Panthers have extended franchise tag designee defensive tackle Kawann Short.
The Carolina Panthers hit a home run today when they signed defensive tackle Kawann Short to the big multi-year deal he was looking for according to reports from Adam Schefter of ESPN. Short signed a five year deal worth eighty million dollars total. That’s an average of sixteen million dollars a year.
Short was high on the Panthers’ to-do list when he came off of his rookie deal this summer. The team prevented him from becoming a free agent by placing the franchise tag on him. That would have paid him 13.5 million dollars this year, but it only pushed the issue of signing Short down the road.
The Panthers had a couple reasons for getting this deal done now. First, there is the cap flexibility to do it now. The Panthers have likely acquired all the big name free agents that they will. They only need money to pay draft picks and potential undrafted free agents.
More from Carolina Panthers
- Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
- Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
- Carolina Panthers: Familiarity should help offense in 2020
- Carolina Panthers: Better or worse at running back in 2020?
- Carolina Panthers: Ranking the NFC South quarterback rooms
Second, the Panthers were looking at potentially going into the next free agency period needing to sign TWO defensive tackles to big extensions. Short and Star Lotulelei would have been negotiating deals with the team at the same time. The Panthers would most likely have lost one of them if that happened. Now they can deal with Lotulelei’s demands separately next year with knowledge of what they paid Short as a bar.
Short now gets to be unconcerned about injury or contract status going into the season. The Panthers defense is still built around the defensive tackle spot and it is crucial to have that position figured out on the roster.
Next: Five Considerations for Number Eight
The Panthers can now focus on the draft. Based on all the moves Dave Gettleman has made, it is looking like the team will take the best player available (not named Mitch Trubisky or Deshaun Watson).