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The Carolina Panthers have been all around the trade rumors when it comes to Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. It has been rumored that the Panthers offered their franchise running back Christian McCaffrey in one of the packages to the Texans. Carolina is not giving up and will continue to push for Watson until the last second.
This could be a make-or-break moment for the Panthers. They are starting to release players to free up cap space. Could the Carolina Panthers be doing all this for nothing, or could they be setting themselves up for a big off-season?
With the new season starting on March 15th, let's take a look at all the moves that the Carolina Panthers have made so far.
NFL Trade Rumors: What moves have the Carolina Panthers made to set up their off-season?
In most recent news, Field Yates reported on Twitter that the Panthers have reworked the contract with former center Matt Paradis. Paradis was set to make $8.03 million in a base salary. The Panthers turned $7.04 million of the base salary into a signing bonus. This freed up $4.6 million in cap space for the Panthers.
Carolina have made a ton of financial moves so far this off-season. They have parted ways with veteran defensive lineman Kawann Short freeing up $8.6 million in cap space. The Panthers cut safety Tre Boston on Friday which freed up $3.5 million in cap space.
Tre Boston was just the beginning for the Carolina Panthers on Friday. The Panthers cut ties with punter Michael Palardy and defensive end Stephen Weatherly. This freed up roughly $7.8 million in cap space for the Carolina Panthers.
With all the financial moves that the Carolina Panthers have made so far, it has saved them roughly $24 million in cap space. The Panthers will be heading into the new season with $31 million in cap space to spend. This gives the Panthers more room to push for Deshaun Watson.
The big question is, are the Carolina Panthers doing all this for nothing? Houston has made it clear that they are not interested in trading Watson. The Texans not accepting the deal that involved Christian McCaffrey should've told the Panthers something.
Are the Panthers doing all the cuts to push for Deshaun Watson or do they have something else planned? Either way, they are freeing up space to make a big splash during the 2021 NFL off-season.
