The Carolina Panthers have already begun to clean house. Their defense was one of the worst in NFL history last season, ranking last in scoring defense, total defense and several other metrics during the 2024 season and heads have already started to roll with the departure of several assistant coaches and even the training staff.
While most of the changes have been behind the scenes, the focus is starting to shift to the roster. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday that the Panthers released veteran cornerback Dane Jackson, who signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract with Carolina last season. Jackson’s lone season with the Panthers didn’t go well as he battled through a hamstring injury and was relegated to the slot role after Mike Jackson won the starting cornerback spot opposite Jaycee Horn.
Panthers released veteran cornerback Dane Jackson, who signed with Carolina last spring after spending four years with the Buffalo Bills.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 21, 2025
The move showed the Panthers aren’t afraid to cut bait on a free agent bust to fix their defense this offseason and it could have another free-agent bust on the chopping block after Jackson’s release.
Panthers Free Agent Bust Shy Tuttle Could Be On Chopping Block After Dane Jackson Release
The Panthers defense has several holes and one of the biggest is along the defensive line. Carolina’s run defense suffered when Derrick Brown went down with a season-ending injury and the Panthers ranked last in the league in rushing yardage allowed (3,057), yards per attempt allowed (5.2) and were second to the Dallas Cowboys with 24 rushing touchdowns allowed.
Like many areas, someone has to be the scapegoat and that could be veteran defensive tackle Shy Tuttle.
Tuttle signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the Panthers after spending his first four seasons with the New Orleans Saints. While he earned overall grades over 70 in each of his first three years, he posted a grade of 60.3 in 2022 according to Pro Football Focus.
Things have gotten worse for the 29-year-old when he arrived in Carolina. Tuttle logged an overall grade of 52.9 in 2023 and dropped to 42.7 last season but the biggest disappointment has been his performance against the run. Tuttle had a 52.8 run defense grade in his first year with the Panthers but hit rock bottom last year with a 33.5 grade that ranked 137th out of 143 qualifying interior defenders.
Shuttle is set to count $9.3 million against next year’s salary cap and while releasing him would incur more dead money ($6.1 million) than cap savings ($3.2 million) thanks to three void years at the end of the deal, it may not be worth keeping him around thanks to his negative value toward the Panthers defense.
With $28.8 million in cap space and the eighth overall pick in a loaded defensive tackle class, Tuttle should be expendable and finding an upgrade will be important this offseason.