Plenty of eyebrows were raised when the Carolina Panthers signed running back Miles Sanders to a four-year, $25.4 million deal last spring. Turns out, those eyebrows weren’t unjustified in their positioning.
David Kenyon of Bleacher Report recently rattled off the NFL’s ten worst contracts ahead of the 2024 campaign. In at No. 8 on the list is that very pact between Sanders and the Panthers:
Miles Sanders assembled a decent four-year run with the Philadelphia Eagles and entered 2023 free agency on a high note. He’d rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns in the previous season, and that production convinced the Carolina Panthers to offer a four-year contract.
Through one season, it’s a bust of a deal.
Sanders rushed for just 432 yards and lost his starting job to Chuba Hubbard in 2023. Then, the Panthers used a second-round pick on Jonathon Brooks in the 2024 NFL draft.
As a result, Sanders may hold a minimal role despite his contract having $7.5 million in dead money at best in 2024.
In all likelihood, the Panthers will release him next offseason when the penalty drops below $3 million.
Those 432 rushing yards were a career-low for Sanders, who was coming off his most productive season as a pro in 2023. He also hit worsts in starts (five) and attempts (129) while averaging 3.3 yards per carry—the third-lowest amongst all qualifying ball carriers.
President of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan did have some nice words on Sanders during the draft, stating that he still envisions a “big role” for the sixth-year veteran. But with Brooks in the fold and Hubbard continuing to impress this spring, Sanders may just be an expensive spectator for much of the upcoming season.
