7 takeaways from Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule’s Wednesday press conference
Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule hasn’t spoken with the media for a while in accordance with one of the calendar year’s dead periods for NFL news. Things are picking up again ahead of the beginning of free agency next week, though. Rhule spoke with reporters today via Zoom and dropped some major news items and a few interesting comments.
Here are a few takeaways from his remarks.
Christian McCaffrey, Shaq Thompson restructure contracts
We'll begin with the biggest news item, which coach Rhule broke himself in his presser. Both All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and outside linebacker Shaq Thompson have restructured their contracts, which could potentially free up a lot more salary cap space for 2021. https://twitter.com/josephperson/status/1369716029950210049 Apparently, McCaffrey got his deal re-worked yesterday, while Thompson did his this morning. While we don't know the details at this time, Pro Football Focus says the max restructure savings for both without voiding any years would come out to around $11.75 million. https://twitter.com/PFF_Brad/status/1369717803859730432 That's a nice extra chunk of change, especially considering the Panthers just made a major financial commitment to their starting right tackle...
A long-term deal remains the goal for Taylor Moton
Rhule also touched on yesterday's major news item: Taylor Moton getting hit with the franchise tag. He says the Panthers made a major commitment by doing so, but the goal remains a long-term deal. https://twitter.com/DNewtonespn/status/1369712010322182152 Moton is arguably the best right tackle in the NFL today, so he's worth every penny of the franchise tag. So far, general manager Scott Fitterer and the team's capologist Samir Suleiman have done an excellent job of navigating the cap this offseason. Extending Moton could save several more million for this year by pushing his larger cap hits into the future. They have until July 15 to work out a deal with Moton otherwise he'll cost $13.75 million this year under the tag.
Comments on Curtis Samuel's contract situation
With Moton secured for now, the Panthers can turn their attention to other pending free agents. At the moment, the most important of them is wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who is coming off his best year yet in the NFL. For whatever it's worth, Rhule says he'd love to see Samuel back but says we'll see how it plays out. https://twitter.com/BridgetCondon_/status/1369713928536797185 Samuel's projected market value according to Spotrac is $12.4 million per season, but we're willing to bet he can command more than that on the open market, so it may be tough to keep him. The restructures for McCaffrey and Thompson should help, though.
Downplaying tensions with Teddy Bridgewater
Some of Rhule's most interesting comments were regarding Carolina's embattled starting quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater. After struggling during the 2020 season Bridgewater clearly fell out of favor with this front office, which has been trying to trade him. Nevertheless, Rhule has nothing but nice things to say about Teddy as a person. Bridgwater even got the old "he's our quarterback," which is about as much support as Rhule has shown for No. 5 since halftime of the Packers game when Rhule publicly rebuked him for reaching across the goal line, resulting in a devastating fumble. https://twitter.com/josephperson/status/1369710928376328196 As for Bridgewater's social media activity, Rhule downplayed that as well. Even though Bridgewater unfollowed the team on Instagram as well as some of his teammates, it seems Rhule wasn't one of them. https://twitter.com/josephperson/status/1369712602020974593 To be continued.
Where to pick a tight end in the draft?
Tight end has been a sore spot for Carolina ever since Greg Olsen's foot injuries became a problem back in 2017. Ian Thomas and Chris Manhertz haven't contributed much as receivers, bringing out speculation that the team will either sign or draft a tight end this year who can add more in the passing game. If it's in the draft, it sounds like Rhule isn't a big fan of the idea of taking one in the first round. https://twitter.com/agetzenberg/status/1369715059677659136 If the Panthers were to pick a tight end in round one most likely it would be Florida's Kyle Pitts, who is TE1 in this class. However, they'd definitely have to use the No. 8 overall pick to get him, which is just too much to invest at that position with so many other roster needs. Should Carolina go the free agent route, there are some good names available, including Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith and Jared Cook.
Expect multiple defensive fronts to continue
Most of Rhule's comments were centered around offensive players, as these things tend to go. He did make at least one interesting note about the defense, though. Rhule told reporters that the team's defensive coordinator Phil Snow will likely continue using both three and four-man defensive line fronts based on the personnel they have. https://twitter.com/DNewtonespn/status/1369714627920228354 Multiple fronts are useful in the modern NFL and Carolina has the pieces to do it. Three of their four projected 2021 starters up front (Brian Burns, Yetur Gross-Matos and Derrick Brown) can line up at different positions. The Panthers also have some solid young talent coming off the bench - especially Efe Obada, who thrived both on the edge and the interior this past season. Re-signing him should be an easy call to make as he's about to become a restricted free agent.
How close is Carolina to contending?
For our last takeaway, let's zoom out and take a look at the big picture. Much of this offseason has been spent speculating on a potential upgrade at quarterback. They almost pulled off a deal with Detroit to send Teddy Bridgewater, a first and a fifth-round pick to the Lions in exchange for Matt Stafford. The Panthers are also one of the teams that have been reported to be heavily interested in Deshaun Watson if the Texans wind up putting him on the trade block. As exciting as it would be to land a talent like Watson, some perspective is needed. Even if they dealt for Watson today and gave up nothing else this team likely still wouldn't be a Super Bowl contender. Coach Rhule correctly says they're more than one player away. https://twitter.com/PanthersBill/status/1369715418554900480 We're convinced that a more aggressive and athletically gifted quarterback could have gotten the Panthers to at least an 8-8 record last season. That usually won't win you a division title or a wild-card spot, though. In order to get back to being a playoff contender, Carolina needs to fill out its depth at several important positions, not just quarterback. For now, that should be the priority, followed by left tackle and cornerback. If the Panthers can upgrade those three spots then this offseason should be considered a success regardless of what else happens. [vertical-gallery id=634601]
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