With some pennies still to be found somewhere in their couch cushions, the Carolina Panthers continued their offseason housecleaning on Monday. This time, it was linebacker Shaq Thompson who helped them tidy up a bit.
As announced by the team, Thompson’s contract has been restructured in a move that’ll clear up an additional $5 million of salary cap space—as reported by ESPN’s David Newton—heading into free agency. Teams can begin negotiating with unrestricted free agents starting next week.
Thompson cashed in on the goodwill of former general manager Marty Hurney a few seasons back—having signed a four-year, $54 million extension in 2019. The 27-year-old, who was set to count over $18 million against the cap in 2022, is fresh off the most impactful campaign of his NFL career—where he totaled 97 tackles with 2.0 sacks and two interceptions.
Carolina’s latest tinkering follows that of Taylor Moton’s from this past Friday. The standout right tackle had his contract reworked to free up $11 million for the team.
