Any hope the Panthers had of signing defensive tackle Kawann Short to a contract extension extension before the season is all but gone, reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. The two sides were negotiating a new deal for Short, which general manager Dave Gettleman acknowledged two weeks ago, but those talks haven’t led anywhere and are “effectively dead,” tweets La Canfora.
The 27-year-old Short broke out last season, his third in the NFL, in leading the NFC champions’ top-tier defense in sacks (11) and forced fumbles (three). Short, who experienced his first 16-start campaign, also graded eighth in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 123 qualified interior defensive linemen (subscription required).
PFF’s 10th-ranked interior D-lineman, the Eagles’ Fletcher Cox, landed a six-year, $103MM extension featuring upward of $55MM in guarantees in June. A month later, the Jets’ Muhammad Wilkerson – No. 11 on the list – secured a five-year, $86MM pact with $53.5MM guaranteed for injury. Short is likely looking for money in a similar neighborhood to those two, and the 6-foot-3, 299-pounder made his dissatisfaction with his contract situation known when he skipped organized team activities in June. However, Short has attended the club’s functions since then and now looks primed to play 2016 for a relative pittance (just over $1MM).
If the Panthers want to retain Short after the season but aren’t able reach a deal with him before free agency opens, the franchise tag would be a likely option. The current cost to tag D-tackles is $13.651MM, and as of late July, Gettleman was reportedly willing to sign Short to an accord worth around $15MM per year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
oh poot, that’s not good