Thomas DeCoud was released by the Carolina Panthers yesterday. DeCoud was signed last year to a two year deal to play safety last year. The Panthers are saving $1.9 million by cutting DeCoud. That is more money that supposedly won’t get spent at the ‘Dollar Store.’
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DeCoud was part of the rent a secondary plan that the Panthers used last year to replace the losses that the Panthers suffered after their 12-5 season. DeCoud was brought in like cornerback Antoine Cason and safety Roman Harper to provide a solution to the defensive secondary.
By the middle of last season, the rent a secondary plan had failed. The Panthers responded to their difficulties by cutting Cason and demoting DeCoud in order to put more speed on the field. That speed was present in the form of younger players like Josh Norman and rookies Bene Benwikere and Tre Boston. Harper retained his spot, but DeCoud was reduced to special teams duty.
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So with DeCoud already superfluous on the roster, it should not be a surprise that the Panthers went ahead and cut him. His replacement could be Colin Jones, who saw a lot of action at nickleback last year, or it could be someone not currently on the roster. The Panthers could still use some depth in the secondary.
The Panthers front office guys will be at the NFL Combine as that gets started today. The biggest off season piece of business will be signing Cam Newton to a big boy contract, and then the Panthers will be looking to build around that. The biggest area of need after Newton is tackle. That should be a draft consideration for the team.
DeCoud was a Pro Bowler three years ago, and he will likely catch on with some team in free agency.