Ravens Offered Gerald McCoy $8MM Guaranteed?
Gerald McCoy agreed to sign with the Panthers today, opting to remain the NFC South rather than venture to the Browns or Ravens in the AFC North. Apparently, though, Baltimore did everything it could to bring McCoy into the fold.
McCoy landed a one-year, $8MM pact from Carolina that could be worth as much as $10.25MM. However, only $4MM of that is guaranteed, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports, the Ravens were willing to give McCoy double that amount in fully-guaranteed money (video link). RapSheet adds that the Browns also put together a strong package that may have surpassed the Panthers’ offer.
It’s unclear what incentives Baltimore or Cleveland were offering to enhance the value of their proposals, but many of the incentives in McCoy’s Panthers deal do not seem especially difficult to achieve (provided he remains healthy). McCoy is due $3MM in base pay — and it’s not as though the Panthers are going to cut him to avoid paying that salary — and he can earn $500K in camp roster bonuses, another $500K in 45-man per game bonuses, $500K if he tallies six sacks, and $1.5MM if he posts eight sacks. He also has playoff and Pro Bowl incentives. The eight-sack incentive may be a tall order, but the others are either very likely or at least attainable (and McCoy did tally 8.5 sacks in 2015, with totals of seven, six, and six in each of the past three seasons).
So in reality, McCoy may ultimately earn just as much in Carolina as he would have with the Ravens or Browns (both of whom also boast strong front-sevens). But McCoy was drawn to the camaraderie he saw during his visit with the Panthers, and he preferred to remain in the South. He enjoyed his visits to Cleveland and Baltimore but had reservations about the cities themselves.
Of course, the chance to exact revenge on the Bucs likely had at least some part in McCoy’s decision, especially with Tampa Bay giving McCoy’s No. 93 to new signee Ndamukong Suh.
Panthers To Sign Gerald McCoy
Free agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has elected to sign with the Panthers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that it will be a one-year, $8MM pact that can be worth as much as $10.25MM with incentives, and Schefter adds that it includes a $4MM signing bonus (Twitter link).
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds more details on the incentive package (Twitter link). In addition to his $4MM signing bonus and $3MM base pay, McCoy can earn $500K in camp roster bonuses, another $500K in 45-man per game bonuses, $500K if he tallies six sacks, and $1.5MM if he posts eight sacks. He also has playoff and Pro Bowl incentives.
McCoy quickly became the hottest name on the market upon his release from the Buccaneers, and he visited with the Browns, Ravens, and Panthers. It sounds as though the Ravens were the runner-up in the McCoy sweepstakes, as Schefter tweets that McCoy left Baltimore thinking he may very well sign there. But Carolina wowed him during his visit, and Panthers QB Cam Newton made a convincing sales pitch. The fact that he can now terrorize his old team twice in 2019 may have also been a factor.
The Panthers reinforce a strong D-line that now includes three Pro Bowlers in McCoy, Dontari Poe, and Kawann Short. McCoy may not be the player he once was, but the 31-year-old is still a fearsome presence, especially considering his ability to generate an interior pass rush. He has 54.5 career sacks to his credit, and he is also durable, as he has not missed more than three games in a season since 2011.
Short and Poe each played between 50-60% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps in 2018, so McCoy fits nicely into the club’s rotation. He ranked fourth among defensive tackles with 21 quarterback hits in 2018 and finished as the NFL’s No. 28 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus.
The Panthers cleared out $9MM in cap space over the past week by officially releasing Matt Kalil and restructuring the contract of Torrey Smith. As Joe Person of The Athletic tweets, Carolina still has $8MM to conduct the rest of its offseason business.
Gerald McCoy Hopes To Sign Today
Gerald McCoy‘s agent is actively negotiating with the Panthers, Browns, and Ravens, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). There’s no real timetable for McCoy to sign, though Rapoport notes that he would like to be on the field for the start of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, wherever he lands.
McCoy drew interest from seemingly 1/3rd of the NFL, but the Ravens and Browns seem to be in the lead for his services. The Panthers have also made a strong push to land McCoy in an effort to give Kawann Short a quality partner on the interior.
McCoy has 54.5 career sacks to his credit and has not missed more than three games in a season since 2011. He’d be an instant difference maker for any of those three clubs and each team would offer him a chance to win in 2019.
Ultimately, it may come down to money for McCoy and his camp – the veteran has reportedly garnered offers as high as $11MM/year, but it’s hard to see him reaching that mark after Ndamukong Suh signed for less than $10MM with the Bucs.
This Date In Transactions History: Panthers Extend Cam Newton
During what became the best year in Panthers franchise history, the team took care of its centerpiece player. On June 2, 2015, the Panthers and Cam Newton reached an agreement on a five-year extension.
This deal preceded Newton’s monster 2015 season, a year that saw him pilot the Panthers to a 15-1 record and Super Bowl 50. The extension turned out to be incredibly team-friendly — especially as the quarterback market exploded in the years that followed. Newton signed a five-year, $103.8MM contract that came with $41MM fully guaranteed.
At that point, Aaron Rodgers‘ five-year, $110MM pact — agreed to in 2013 — remained the standard. And the market did not move much for the next two years. Both Andrew Luck and Derek Carr took it higher, with the latter’s extension spiking it to the $25MM-per-year mark. Now, having Newton on a $20.8MM-AAV deal is a staggering bargain for the Panthers — regardless of the 30-year-old quarterback’s situation — and represents a mark in the win column of embattled GM Dave Gettleman. The since-fired Carolina GM did not draft Newton but oversaw the extension process.
Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, Rodgers and Russell Wilson led to the passer market ballooning to its current place, with Wilson’s $35MM-AAV accord pacing the NFL. In between Carr’s deal in June 2017 and Wilson’s April 2019 re-up, the landscape has changed significantly. Newton is now the NFL’s 16th-highest-paid passer. His full-guarantee number ranks 11th. Both Ryan and Cousins more than doubled it in their most recent deals.
Newton has not come close to replicating his 2015 MVP performance, which featured 35 touchdown passes (11 more than any other season), 636 rushing yards and 10 TDs, and a 66.0 QBR. The former No. 1 overall pick regressed in 2016 and ’17, failing to top 22 touchdown passes or the No. 21 spot in QBR in either slate. The Auburn phenom was faring well in Norv Turner‘s offense last season, but another shoulder injury halted his progress and has forced a second lengthy rehab process in three years.
Two years remain, with cap numbers of $23.2MM and $21.1MM, on Newton’s contract. He is not in a strong bargaining position right now, reinjuring his shoulder and having just resumed throwing regulation-sized footballs. But if Newton returns to the form he showed to start last season, extension talks figure to transpire in 2020. The Panthers used a third-round pick on Will Grier but remain committed to Newton as their starter.
That said, this will be a key season for the three-time Pro Bowler — particularly from a health standpoint. If 2019 does not go well, the Panthers could get out of Newton’s deal with merely a $2MM dead-money charge. Although, if the team wanted to change course after nine years of Newton, this contract (and the passer’s talent) would not make for difficult trade talks. But we’re obviously a ways away from that potential reality. The most successful quarterback in Panthers history will have a chance to rebuild his value soon.
Four NFL Teams Set To Receive Cap Space
Four teams are set to receive some cap space tomorrow due to post-June 1st cuts, as ESPN’s Field Yates points out on Twitter. Those clubs include:
- Bears: $1MM (Cody Parkey, story)
- Chiefs: $9.55MM (Eric Berry, story)
- Falcons: $6.45MM (Ryan Schraeder, story)
- Panthers: $7MM (Matt Kalil, story)
Way back in the day, our own Luke Adams explained all of the nuances of the June 1st designation. In simplest terms, a team’s salary cap can account for a released-player’s bonuses based on two separate time periods.
If a player is designated for release prior to June 1st, the remaining bonus money is immediately added to the upcoming year’s cap. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com uses the 2013 release of Steve Breaston (Chiefs) as an example. The wide receiver only completed two years of his five-year contract, meaning he was only paid $2MM of his $5MM bonus. Therefore, since he was designated for release prior to June 1st, the remaining $3MM in bonus money was added to the Chiefs’ 2013 salary cap.
However, if the player is designated for release after June 1st, then the player’s current-year bonus remains the same for that respective year (in regards to the salary cap) . The rest of that bonus money would then be added to the following year’s cap. So, using Breaston as an example, if the Chiefs had designated him for release after June 1st, then the team would have seen his $1MM bonus money added to their salary cap in 2013. Then, in 2014, the remaining $2MM would be accounted for.
So why were teams announcing these releases prior to today? Well, the NFL allows each team to designate two players as a post-June 1st cut. This provides the player with more time to find their next gig. This was seemingly a concession by the teams, as they benefit via the salary-cap relief.
For the Bears, Chiefs, Falcons, and Panthers, this added cap space will be especially useful as they look to sign their draft picks or extend their current players. These teams could also be looking to clear some space for a free agent acquisition, as the Panthers are presumably doing for Gerald McCoy.
Panthers Notes: McCoy, Scheme, Newton
Although initial reports indicated Gerald McCoy‘s visit with the Panthers would begin on Thursday, he’ll actually begin meeting with the club on Friday, tweets Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. The Ravens and Browns have already hosted McCoy, and despite a slew of other reported interest, it appears McCoy will decide between Baltimore, Cleveland, and Carolina, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests (Twitter link). McCoy, 31, has reportedly drawn offers as high as $11MM per year, although that figure is difficult to believe at face value, especially given Ndamukong Suh — McCoy’s replacement in Tampa Bay — collected only $9.25MM on a one-year deal.
- The Panthers are planning to run more 3-4 looks on defense, at least when they’re in base on early downs, as David Newton of ESPN.com writes. Rumors of a scheme change in Carolina have been bubbling for months, but head coach Ron Rivera hadn’t yet confirmed the move. Per Newton, the Panthers began experimenting with 3-4 fronts after Rivera took over play-calling for the final month of the season. According to Warren Sharp’s personnel data, Carolina ranked near the bottom of the league in 2018 in facing three-plus receivers — if that trend continues next year, the Panthers will spend a good deal of time in their new 3-4 base defense.
- Cam Newton has continually expressed optimism that he’ll be ready for training camp after undergoing offseason shoulder injury, and the Panthers quarterback recent took a step in the right direction. Newton has begun throwing a regulation size football, per Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer. The 30-year-old signal-caller sat out the final two games of the 2018 season while dealing with shoulder pain that eventually led to his operation.
Panthers WR Torrey Smith Accepts Pay Cut
Panthers wide receiver Torrey Smith has agreed to reduce his base salary of $5MM to $2MM plus an additional $1MM via bonuses, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.
Carolina is pursuing free agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and still needs to sign its top two 2019 draft picks, so the club can use any additional cap space it can get. By creating $2MM via Smith’s pay cut, the Panthers should now have roughly $11.835MM in available funds, per Over the Cap.
Smith missed five games due to a knee injury last season, appearing in only 11 games while making six starts. He was targeted just 31 times on the year, hauling in 17 of those targets for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Smith has never been a volume receiver, but he hasn’t topped 12 yards per reception since 2015, and hasn’t posted more than 40 catches since 2014.
Carolina acquired Smith, now 30 years old, from the Eagles last offseason in exchange for cornerback Daryl Worley. The Panthers exercised his 2019 option despite his lack of production last year, but that decision came with no downside, as none of Smith’s $5MM salary was guaranteed.
The Panthers added free agent Chris Hogan and seventh-round draft pick Terry Godwin to a wide receiver depth chart that already includes D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Jarius Wright, so Smith isn’t likely to see an increase in snaps in 2019. Despite today’s pay cut, he still may not be a lock for Carolina’s roster, although the club would now have to carry that $1MM bonus payment as dead money.
Panthers To Meet With Gerald McCoy
Gerald McCoy is “tentatively” scheduled to meet with the Panthers this week, a source tells Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Carolina will host McCoy beginning on Thursday night, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
The Panthers first expressed interest in McCoy last week, and that interest “has not waned,” reports Rodrigue. A number of teams, including the Falcons, Saints, Colts, and Bengals have all reportedly at least considered a McCoy addition, but he’s only met with the Browns and Ravens thus far. Cleveland and Baltimore are McCoy’s preferred destinations, although he’s likely to be swayed by financial specifics.
While Carolina already boasts Kawann Short and Dontari Poe at defensive tackle, the club still has room for McCoy along the interior. Short and Poe each played between 50-60% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps in 2018, so McCoy could certainly fit into a rotation. McCoy would likely take playing time away from former first-round pick Vernon Butler (who’s already had his 2020 fifth-year option declined) and reserve Kyle Love.
McCoy, 31, ranked fourth among defensive tackles with 21 quarterback hits in 2018 and finished as the NFL’s No. 28 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/29/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed off waivers: DL Pita Taumoepenu (from 49ers)
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: G Kofi Amichia
- Waived: OL Landon Turner
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: OL Chidi Okeke
Oakland Raiders
- Waived/Injured: FB Ryan Yurachek
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Marcelias Sutton
- Waived/Injured: RB Adam Choice
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: DT Stevie Tu’ikolovatu
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Frank Herron
Browns, Ravens Top Gerald McCoy’s List
The Browns and Ravens are in the lead for Gerald McCoy‘s services, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). However, if neither club offers him the contract he wants, it’s possible that things could open up for other teams. 
One of those teams could be the Panthers, who have a desire to upgrade at defensive tackle and have been lurking, according to Rapoport. With less than $10MM in projected cap space, the Panthers don’t have a ton of breathing room, but they could get creative with some contract adjustments and/or a backloaded contract for McCoy.
Pairing McCoy with Kawann Short would give the Panthers a potent attack on the inside, but Dontari Poe‘s contract may stand in the way. Signed to a three-year, $28MM deal in 2018, cutting Poe today would leave the Panthers with a whopping $9.2MM cap charge versus just $166K in savings. Instead, the Panthers may prefer to stay the course with Short, Poe, and quality backup Kyle Love.