While it may appear the Panthers are done in free agency, here’s something to note: General manager Dave Gettleman didn’t finish shopping until the second week of April in each of the past two offseasons.In 2013, Carolina added receiver Domenik Hixon on April 10. Then during this week last year, they signed receiver Jason Avant, defensive tackle Colin Cole and tight end Ed Dickson before wrapping things up with safety Thomas DeCoud and defensive end Alex Hall on April 11.So since possibilities like wideout Greg Jennings and an obvious connection like cornerback Charles Tillman remain available, the Panthers could still bring another guy or two aboard before the draft. But for the purpose of this post, let’s loosely assume signings are finished for now.If they are, it’s remarkable how much this year’s free agency totals mirror 2014’s. The Panthers again had to be cap conscious — as Gettleman previously warned — but it’s also tough to see much of a “move up in class.”A breakdown of the last three offseasons is below, but first, a few more notes:
- Contracts added from mid-February to mid-April
- 2015 — 17
- 2014 — 19
- 2013 — 13
- Contracts signed by players who were with Panthers the previous season
- 2015 — 9
- 2014 — 9
- 2013 — 6
- Multi-year contracts
- 2015 — 7
- 2014 — 8
- 2013 — 2
- Salary cap total of added contracts
- 2015 — $16,756,566
- 2014 — $29,887,257
- 2013 — $10,842,206
- The franchise tag for defensive end Greg Hardy cost $13.12 million last year. Subtract that from the 2014 salary cap number above and you get $16,771,257, which is pretty much what the Panthers have added this offseason.
- As of Tuesday night, the NFLPA’s Public Salary Cap Report showed Carolina $10.1 million under the cap. With $5 million needed for the rookie class, and with Gettleman hoping to eventually improve his surplus, there’s not much money left.
- The data below is from Over The Cap and Spotrac. It is unofficial, but helpful for estimation purposes.
2015
| SIGNED BY 4/10/15 |
CONTRACT |
2015 BASE SALARY |
GUARANTEED MONEY |
2015 CAP NUMBER |
| TE Greg Olsen |
Extension |
$900,000* |
$12,000,000 |
$6,300,000* |
| OT Michael Oher |
2 years |
$850,000 |
$2,500,000 |
$2,421,875 |
| WR Ted Ginn |
2 years |
$900,000 |
$1,700,000 |
$1,850,000 |
| DT Dwan Edwards |
2 years |
$1,000,000 |
$1,000,000 |
$1,750,000 |
| CB Charles Tillman |
1 year |
$1,000,000 |
$350,000 |
$1,531,250 |
| TE Ed Dickson |
3 years |
$715,000 |
$2,000,000 |
$1,516,666 |
| S Kurt Coleman |
2 years |
$750,000 |
$600,000 |
$1,290,625 |
| OT Jonathan Martin |
Inherited |
$1,042,400 |
|
$1,042,400 |
| WR Jarrett Boykin |
1 year |
$660,000 |
$20,000 |
$700,000 |
| CB Teddy Williams |
2 years |
$900,000 |
$220,000 |
$680,000 |
| DT Colin Cole |
1 year |
$970,000 |
$80,000 |
$665,000 |
| QB Joe Webb |
1 year |
$745,000 |
$80,000 |
$665,000 |
| OL Chris Scott |
1 year |
$745,000 |
$80,000 |
$665,000 |
| LB Jason Trusnik |
1 year |
$870,000 |
$80,000 |
$665,000 |
| RB Fozzy Whittaker |
2 years |
$585,000 |
$50,000 |
$635,000 |
| RB Jordan Todman |
1 year |
$745,000 |
$20,000 |
$605,000 |
| LB Ben Jacobs |
1 year |
$585,000 |
|
$585,000 |
| WR Brenton Bersin |
1 year |
$510,000 |
|
$510,000 |
| C Brian Folkerts |
1 year |
$510,000 |
|
$510,000 |
| TOTAL |
|
$14,082,400 |
$20,780,000 |
$18,287,816 |
*Not included in total
2014
| SIGNED BY 4/11/14 |
CONTRACT |
2014 BASE SALARY |
GUARANTEED MONEY |
2014 CAP NUMBER |
| DE Greg Hardy |
Franchise |
$13,116,000 |
$13,116,000 |
$13,116,000 |
| K Graham Gano |
4 years |
$950,000 |
$3,950,000 |
$1,750,000 |
| WR Jerricho Cotchery |
2 years |
$1,250,000 |
$2,250,000 |
$1,700,000 |
| S Roman Harper |
2 years |
$950,000 |
$1,500,000 |
$1,518,750 |
| S Thomas DeCoud |
2 years |
$900,000 |
$500,000 |
$1,353,750 |
| DT Colin Cole |
1 year |
$855,000 |
$175,000 |
$1,121,875 |
| QB Derek Anderson |
2 years |
$875,000 |
$400,000 |
$1,100,000 |
| WR Jason Avant |
1 year |
$855,000 |
$150,000 |
$1,050,000 |
| WR Tiquan Underwood |
2 years |
$750,000 |
$300,000 |
$925,000 |
| TE Richie Brockel |
2 years |
$650,000 |
$150,000 |
$755,000 |
| TE Mike McNeill |
2 years |
$660,000 |
$100,000 |
$660,000 |
| CB James Dockery |
1 year |
$645,000 |
|
$660,000 |
| DE Alex Hall |
1 year |
$645,000 |
$10,000 |
$655,000 |
| CB Antoine Cason |
1 year |
$730,000 |
$65,000 |
$635,000 |
| TE Ed Dickson |
1 year |
$730,000 |
$65,000 |
$635,000 |
| QB Joe Webb |
1 year |
$730,000 |
$65,000 |
$635,000 |
| LB Jason Williams |
1 year |
$715,000 |
|
$570,000 |
| OT Garry Williams |
1 year |
$421,882 |
$75,000 |
$551,882 |
| S Anderson Russell |
1 year |
$495,000 |
|
$495,000 |
| TOTAL |
|
$26,992,882 |
$22,871,000 |
$29,887,257 |
2013
| SIGNED BY 4/10/13 |
CONTRACT |
2013 BASE SALARY |
GUARANTEED MONEY |
2013 CAP NUMBER |
| DT Dwan Edwards |
2 years |
$850,000 |
$1,200,000 |
$1,600,000 |
| WR Domenik Hixon |
1 year |
$725,000 |
$437,500 |
$1,162,500 |
| WR Ted Ginn |
1 year |
$750,000 |
$350,000 |
$1,100,000 |
| CB Captain Munnerlyn |
1 year |
$750,000 |
$350,000 |
$1,100,000 |
| S Mike Mitchell |
1 year |
$725,000 |
$275,000 |
$1,000,000 |
| LB Chase Blackburn |
2 years |
$850,000 |
$200,000 |
$1,000,000 |
| TE Ben Hartsock |
1 year |
$840,000 |
$65,000 |
$620,000 |
| CB D.J. Moore |
1 year |
$715,000 |
$65,000 |
$620,000 |
| LB Jordan Senn |
1 year |
$715,000 |
$65,000 |
$620,000 |
| DT Colin Cole |
1 year |
$840,000 |
|
$620,000 |
| QB Derek Anderson |
1 year |
$840,000 |
|
$555,000 |
| CB Drayton Florence |
1 year |
$940,000 |
|
$489,706 |
| WR James Shaw |
1 year |
$405,000 |
|
$405,000 |
| TOTAL |
|
$9,945,000 |
$3,007,500 |
$10,842,206 |