Carolina Panthers: Short Reports
The Carolina Panthers are in minicamps today and they have been joined by a key member, defensive tackle Kawann Short.
The Carolina Panthers were finally whole yesterday. They became so when Kawann Short showed up for team physicals and activities for this week’s mini-camp. The big Purdue product had missed organized team activities last weeks over contract negotiations. Now he is back at least so he does not get fined.
Much has been made of Short’s decision to skip OTAs as a sign that the contract extension talks that he is in are not going very well. That is unlikely to be the case, Short was looking for a way to add some leverage to the talks and it probably gained him nothing.
The theory of not showing up is twofold. One, it eliminates the possibility of a freak injury that would lower the player’s value. Two, the coaches might feel stressed that he is not there and pressure the general manager to get him into camp.
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The problem with the second theory is that we are talking about Ron Rivera, former NFL player. If anyone knows the kinds of silliness that go on in player contract negotiations it would be Rivera. The guy has been around players all of his life. He’s not going to start texting Dave Gettleman endlessly asking where Short is.
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Then there is general manager Dave Gettleman, who has already shown his tolerance of player demands earlier this year when he rescinded Josh Norman’s franchise tag. Gettleman knows how valuable Short is and that Short is a good player at his preferred position. However Gettleman is unlikely to overpay anybody because of the consequences down the road. That is why he tucked Vernon Butler in there as a security policy.
If Short showed up for mini-camp to avoid the fine associated with it then his rebellion is most likely over. That doesn’t mean that he is going to sign something just yet. He is likely to do it before the season so that his last work was his Pro Bowl season from last year. Going into the season risks Short having an injury or a mediocre year that lower the contract value.
Still, it seemed like this would be settled by now and it isn’t. This is perhaps blowback from the Norman deal, with Short’s agent basically telling Gettleman: “We know you’re a tough guy but that doesn’t mean we will ask for any less.”