Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer have both expressed the same sentiment about finding a quarterback this offseason. They’ll be thorough and aggressive, yet still selective.
But will that process, which sounds different from their endeavors of the previous two years, ultimately just land them a retread project for the third straight season? Jonathan M. Alexander of The Charlotte Observer thinks so.
Alexander joined Thursday’s episode of The Roar: A Carolina Panthers Podcast to discuss some of the latest developments from the team’s spring. He told hosts John Ellis and Billy Marshall that even despite all the hubbub leading up to the draft and its polarizing quarterback class, the Panthers will probably wind up with either one of two veteran passers who have been left on hold.
“I do think one of the Panthers quarterbacks, when it’s all said and done, is going to be either Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield,” Alexander said. “The reason why the Panthers had disinterest in Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo, too, is because their contracts are not something that they would want to take on. And it was something they couldn’t take on, too. And they were focused on Deshaun Watson at the time.”
Mayfield has now become available as a result of that Watson fallout, a high-stakes pursuit that saw the three-time Pro Bowler finally settle in with the Cleveland Browns. The Panthers, who reportedly wouldn’t guarantee the legally troubled passer the greenbacks he was hoping for, were eliminated from consideration by Watson after a year-long chase.
Money has also been a key factor for Carolina in shying off of Mayfield—at least for now. Alexander went on to note that the team isn’t too keen on paying the fifth-year options ($18.8 million) of both Mayfield and Sam Darnold—2018’s first and third overall selections.
There is, however, a way around it.
“But if that contract comes down, if the 49ers or the Browns agree to take on that money or say the Browns or the 49ers release their quarterbacks, then the 49ers take on $7.5 million in dead money if they did do that,” he added. “That’s why they’ve [the Panthers] been opening up that cap space—to give them room so they can possibly trade for a quarterback if that’s what they want to do and I think that’s what they’re gonna end up doing.”
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, huh? Well, the Panthers have been digging through the trash since 2020 and have yet to find any gems.
So could this dumpster dive be different?
