The Carolina Panthers are in serious cost-cutting mode according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. The Panthers are approximately $9.6 million over the salary cap and are one of four teams that have to get under the cap before March 13, that means a lot of wheeling and dealing is going to have to be done in the next three weeks to restructure contracts and/or cut the roster. A provision in the new collective-bargaining agreement allows teams to increase their cap by rolling over unused space from 2011 into... [Read More]
Former LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers is scheduled to visit Charlotte for a pre-draft meeting with the Panthers on March 8, according to his agent. Albert Elias of Elias Sports Management posted details of the visit on his Twitter page Thursday evening. Brockers, 6-5 and 306 pounds, had 54 tackles, an interception and three pass breakups in 2011 in his only season as a starter at LSU. The Panthers drafted a pair of defensive tackles in the third round last season -- Terrell McClain and Sione Fua, who were... [Read More]
The Carolina Panthers have signed free agent defensive end/linebacker Jyles Tucker to a one-year deal, David Canter, Tucker's agent, announced on Twitter. Financial terms were not disclosed. Undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2007, the 6-foot-3, 258-pound Tucker totaled 56 tackles, including 10 quarterback sacks, in 32 games for the San Diego Chargers from 2007-10. Tucker suffered a season-ending pectoral injury in 2010 and the Chargers released him after the lockout. Tucker played outside linebacker in the Chargers' 3-4... [Read More]
According to AP’s Football Twitter account, the Panthers have re-signed longsnapper J.J. Jansen to a 4 year contract extension and linebacker Jason Phillips to a 1 year contract. Jansen has played in every game for the last 3 years, and went to college at Notre Dame. Long term deals for longsnappers aren’t that uncommon, as they are usually low salary and low risk. Jason Phillips was a graduate of TCU and played in 9 games as a rookie for Baltimore, forcing a fumble. He had 2 tackles in 2011 for the Panthers, playing... [Read More]
The Carolina Panthers have signed long snapper J.J. Jansen to a four-year contract extension, according to his agent, Paul Sheehy. Jansen was a restricted free agent last season who was paid $1.2 million. The details of this contract have yet to be revealed. Jansen is a former undrafted free agent from Notre Dame who was traded to the Panthers from the Green Bay Packers. The deal prevents Jansen from becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has won the 2011 Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Newton is the second straight No. 1 overall draft pick to take the honor in voting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. Rams QB Sam Bradford won it last year. The first Panther to take the award, Newton received 47 votes to three for Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton. Newton set an NFL record for touchdowns rushing in a season by a quarterback with 14 and became the... [Read More]
Injury-plagued OLB Thomas Davis would like to stay with the Panthers and is willing to restructure his contract to facilitate his return. The Panthers would like to have him back, but the team is expected to release him before March 15, when he's due an $8 million bonus, if the two sides can't work out a very modest short-term deal (which would include a massive pay cut) by that time. Releasing him, of course, would not preclude them from working out a deal later in the offseason. Davis tore his right ACL for the third... [Read More]
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton made no excuses for his poor showing in his first Pro Bowl last week in the NFC's 59-41 loss according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Playing the entire second half, Newton was 9-of-27 passing with two touchdowns and three interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown. While Newton conceded it was difficult to gauge the intensity level of the defense, he said it shouldn't have mattered. “That's my job to find and still perform at a high level. I think I failed... [Read More]
The Carolina Panthers announced they had made a change in their logo. But what about their uniforms? "I don't anticipate any changes at all in the uniforms," Charlie Dayton, the Panthers' team spokesman, told Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer Tuesday. The logo will be incorporated into the helmets and jerseys, of course. But that's about it. There had been much speculation to the contrary, prompted partly by the NFL's decision to change uniform makers in 2012 (from Reebok to Nike) and partly wishful... [Read More]
On Sunday night, the Carolina Panthers unveiled the first update to their logo since they entered the league in 1995. "We have one of the finest and most recognizable logos in the NFL and wanted to make it as modern as possible without losing the dramatic essence of the mark," said Carolina Panthers President Danny Morrison. "It is a cleaner style that is easier to read and should be more applicable to different uses," Morrison added. The new logo coincides with Nike replacing Reebok as the league's... [Read More]
Last year the Panthers decision to take Cam Newton with first overall pick proved to be much better than a number of draft experts believed. Typically, teams with a franchise-caliber quarterback in place wouldn’t considering taking another one the following year, especially when you consider that they drafted Jimmy Clausen during the second-round the year before, but Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer mentions that the Panthers could have interest in drafting Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson to backup Newton next... [Read More]
According to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer, the "buzz" around Mobile, Alabama at the Senior Bowl is that Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski will receive a second interview for the Tampa Bay Bucs' head coaching job. Mike Sherman has already been identified as a finalist for the job but the Bucs' braintrust seems to be in no hurry since being turned down by Oregon head coach Chip Kelly. Chudzinski is in Mobile, Alabama this week for the Senior Bowl with the rest of the Panthers' coaching... [Read More]
Cam Newton is headed to Hawaii. With Eli Manning and the New York Giants punching their Super Bowl ticket Sunday with a win at San Francisco in the NFC championship game, Newton is expected to take Manning's spot on the NFC team in the Pro Bowl on Jan. 29 in Honolulu. Newton, who broke Peyton Manning's rookie passing record, was the NFC's first alternate at quarterback behind Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans' Drew Brees and Manning, who were voted in. Newton, the former Auburn QB who was the No. 1 overall pick in... [Read More]
The Carolina Panthers have hired Steve Wilks as their new secondary coach. He replaces Ron Meeks, who leaves after three seasons and who Rivera inherited last season, the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the news. The Chargers had promoted Wilks to assistant head coach last year. It’s not known if he will have a similar title with the Panthers, the move makes sense for Wilks, too, because he is a native of the Charlotte, N.C., area. Wilks is considered a strong communicator and a tough, non-nonsense assistant, he... [Read More]
The Carolina Panthers appear to have found their new secondary coach – and it's someone familiar both with Charlotte and Panthers coach Ron Rivera. San Diego Chargers defensive backs coach Steve Wilks has accepted the same position with the Panthers, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Saturday. A Panthers spokesman said he could not confirm the hire. Wilks, who grew up in Charlotte, played at Appalachian State and for the Charlotte Rage in the Arena Football League in 1993. He worked with Rivera in Chicago and San... [Read More]
