bubba9497
February-20th-2005, 03:09 PM
Panthers in need of cap relief, likely to make changes soon
Muhammad's contract a key to offseason plans
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/football/nfl/carolina_panthers/10947409.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
If the NFL's free agency period started today, the Carolina Panthers would be $7.2 million over the salary cap, according to numbers obtained by The Observer.
That number could get even larger before March 2, the day the league's year starts and teams are required to be under the $85.5 million salary cap.
The Panthers will have to make tenders to linebacker Will Witherspoon and a handful of other restricted free agents, if long-term deals aren't worked out before the league's calendar changes. More cap space will be used to make tenders to the team's exclusive rights free agents.
A bit of relief will come in the form of a refund of the $3 million in cap space that retired tackle Adam Meadows is currently taking up. But those savings are likely to be chipped down to about $1 million once quarterback Jake Delhomme's incentives for 2004 are factored into the Panthers' cap.
The cap overage is likely to bring the biggest purge the Panthers have seen since the George Seifert era, but it remains to be seen if the team will free space via quantity, quality or a combination of the two.
A single move would put the Panthers under the cap and perhaps give them some flexibility to pursue free agents. Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad has a $12.5 million cap figure that will be altered before March 2. The question is if the Panthers release Muhammad and free up $10.2 million or sign him to a contract extension and lower his cap hit to the $3 million to $4 million range?
That could be decided as early as Tuesday, the first day teams are allowed to release players under contract for 2005.
There is another route the Panthers could take as they free up space, which would involve restructuring contracts and releasing other veterans. Safety Mike Minter and center Jeff Mitchell are candidates for cap-relieving extensions as they head into the final season of their contracts.
Numerous other veterans could be asked to restructure their contracts.
Veteran receiver Ricky Proehl and quarterback Rodney Peete could retire or be released. The team says guard Bruce Nelson is rehabilitating a hip injury, but there are rumors around the league that he might retire.
Cornerback Artrell Hawkins, guard Doug Brzezinski, punter Todd Sauerbrun, tackle Todd Fordham, long snapper Jason Kyle and quarterback Chris Weinke have relatively high cap figures and could be candidates for release.
What They Cost
Here is a look at the scheduled 2005 salary-cap figures for the Carolina Panthers. Only the top 51 figures will count against the cap, starting March 2 and continuing through the offseason. Just before the start of the regular season, the figures for all players (including those no longer on the roster) begin to count:
TOP 51 figures
M. Muhammad $12,535,000
Julius Peppers $8,290,000
Mike Minter $5,943,750
Mike Rucker $5,724,000
Jeff Mitchell $5,316,250
Jake Delhomme $4,281,666
Steve Smith $3,459,411
Kris Jenkins $3,322,618
Stephen Davis $3,100,000
Jordan Gross $3,005,125
x-Adam Meadows $3,000,000
Artrell Hawkins $2,500,000
Brentson Buckner $2,196,500
Dan Morgan $2,063,750
John Kasay $1,800,000
Doug Brzezinski $1,750,000
Todd Sauerbrun $1,560,400
Chris Weinke $1,521,177
Brandon Short $1,415,000
Al Wallace $1,300,000
Rodney Peete $1,166,668
Chris Gamble $1,100,000
Ricky Proehl $1,098,334
Brad Hoover $1,070,000
DeShaun Foster $990,000
Todd Fordham $815,000
Kris Mangum $800,000
Jason Kyle $745,000
Bruce Nelson $715,000
Tutan Reyes $700,000
Nick Goings $695,000
Micah Ross $575,000
Keary Colbert $566,500
Mike Seidman $550,859
Ricky Manning $540,709
William Hampton $492,500
Colin Branch $477,000
Travelle Wharton $442,750
Kindal Moorehead $420,334
Eddie Freeman $380,000
Matt Hill $380,000
Bryan Knight $380,000
Drew Carter $340,083
Michael Gaines $314,400
Dan Curley $305,000
Marcus Floyd $305,000
Charles Hill $305,000
Justin Smith $305,000
J.R. Tolver $305,000
Nick Maddox $305,000
Rod Rutherford $254,334
OTHERS
x-Travis Claridge $250,000
Adam Johnson $248,334
Antoine Burns $230,000
Scott Farley $230,000
Tim Dodge $230,000
Isaac Hilton $230,000
x-Terrance Shaw $166,667
x-Rod Walker $50,000
x-Walter Young $12,668
x-Casey Moore $9,134
x-Toby Cecil $5,000
x-Scott McCready $5,000
x-Jonathan Harrell $4,667
x-Derrick Strong $4,000
x-Damane Duckett $4,000
x-Eddie Jackson $3,334
x-Brian King $3,334
x-Ben Herrell $2,667
x-Billy Bennett $1,334
x - Not on current roster
Muhammad's contract a key to offseason plans
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/football/nfl/carolina_panthers/10947409.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
If the NFL's free agency period started today, the Carolina Panthers would be $7.2 million over the salary cap, according to numbers obtained by The Observer.
That number could get even larger before March 2, the day the league's year starts and teams are required to be under the $85.5 million salary cap.
The Panthers will have to make tenders to linebacker Will Witherspoon and a handful of other restricted free agents, if long-term deals aren't worked out before the league's calendar changes. More cap space will be used to make tenders to the team's exclusive rights free agents.
A bit of relief will come in the form of a refund of the $3 million in cap space that retired tackle Adam Meadows is currently taking up. But those savings are likely to be chipped down to about $1 million once quarterback Jake Delhomme's incentives for 2004 are factored into the Panthers' cap.
The cap overage is likely to bring the biggest purge the Panthers have seen since the George Seifert era, but it remains to be seen if the team will free space via quantity, quality or a combination of the two.
A single move would put the Panthers under the cap and perhaps give them some flexibility to pursue free agents. Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad has a $12.5 million cap figure that will be altered before March 2. The question is if the Panthers release Muhammad and free up $10.2 million or sign him to a contract extension and lower his cap hit to the $3 million to $4 million range?
That could be decided as early as Tuesday, the first day teams are allowed to release players under contract for 2005.
There is another route the Panthers could take as they free up space, which would involve restructuring contracts and releasing other veterans. Safety Mike Minter and center Jeff Mitchell are candidates for cap-relieving extensions as they head into the final season of their contracts.
Numerous other veterans could be asked to restructure their contracts.
Veteran receiver Ricky Proehl and quarterback Rodney Peete could retire or be released. The team says guard Bruce Nelson is rehabilitating a hip injury, but there are rumors around the league that he might retire.
Cornerback Artrell Hawkins, guard Doug Brzezinski, punter Todd Sauerbrun, tackle Todd Fordham, long snapper Jason Kyle and quarterback Chris Weinke have relatively high cap figures and could be candidates for release.
What They Cost
Here is a look at the scheduled 2005 salary-cap figures for the Carolina Panthers. Only the top 51 figures will count against the cap, starting March 2 and continuing through the offseason. Just before the start of the regular season, the figures for all players (including those no longer on the roster) begin to count:
TOP 51 figures
M. Muhammad $12,535,000
Julius Peppers $8,290,000
Mike Minter $5,943,750
Mike Rucker $5,724,000
Jeff Mitchell $5,316,250
Jake Delhomme $4,281,666
Steve Smith $3,459,411
Kris Jenkins $3,322,618
Stephen Davis $3,100,000
Jordan Gross $3,005,125
x-Adam Meadows $3,000,000
Artrell Hawkins $2,500,000
Brentson Buckner $2,196,500
Dan Morgan $2,063,750
John Kasay $1,800,000
Doug Brzezinski $1,750,000
Todd Sauerbrun $1,560,400
Chris Weinke $1,521,177
Brandon Short $1,415,000
Al Wallace $1,300,000
Rodney Peete $1,166,668
Chris Gamble $1,100,000
Ricky Proehl $1,098,334
Brad Hoover $1,070,000
DeShaun Foster $990,000
Todd Fordham $815,000
Kris Mangum $800,000
Jason Kyle $745,000
Bruce Nelson $715,000
Tutan Reyes $700,000
Nick Goings $695,000
Micah Ross $575,000
Keary Colbert $566,500
Mike Seidman $550,859
Ricky Manning $540,709
William Hampton $492,500
Colin Branch $477,000
Travelle Wharton $442,750
Kindal Moorehead $420,334
Eddie Freeman $380,000
Matt Hill $380,000
Bryan Knight $380,000
Drew Carter $340,083
Michael Gaines $314,400
Dan Curley $305,000
Marcus Floyd $305,000
Charles Hill $305,000
Justin Smith $305,000
J.R. Tolver $305,000
Nick Maddox $305,000
Rod Rutherford $254,334
OTHERS
x-Travis Claridge $250,000
Adam Johnson $248,334
Antoine Burns $230,000
Scott Farley $230,000
Tim Dodge $230,000
Isaac Hilton $230,000
x-Terrance Shaw $166,667
x-Rod Walker $50,000
x-Walter Young $12,668
x-Casey Moore $9,134
x-Toby Cecil $5,000
x-Scott McCready $5,000
x-Jonathan Harrell $4,667
x-Derrick Strong $4,000
x-Damane Duckett $4,000
x-Eddie Jackson $3,334
x-Brian King $3,334
x-Ben Herrell $2,667
x-Billy Bennett $1,334
x - Not on current roster