CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers restructured the deals of running back Christian McCaffrey and linebacker Shaq Thompson to clear more than $11 million in salary cap space.
They saved $5.6 million in space on McCaffrey, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, by converting his 2021 base salary of just over $8 million into signing bonus.
This came less than a year after McCaffrey signed a four-year, $64 million extension that made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history at $16 million a year.
According to Schefter, they saved $6.126 million on Thompson, who in December of 2019 signed a four-year, $54.2 million extension. They did this by reducing Thompson’s base salary of just over $10 million in 2021 to the league minimum of $990,000 for a player with at least four years in the league and converted the rest to signing bonus.
The $11,726,000 in cap savings added to the $18.5 million they had in space after using the franchise tag on right tackle Taylor Moton ($13.75 million) on Tuesday brought the team’s total space to more than $30 million.
Despite the savings, coach Matt Rhule, who casually announced during a Wednesday Zoom call that his two star players had restructured, doesn’t expect the team to be big hitters in free agency that begins next week.
“We don’t have a ton of money, so we have to be really targeted in what we’re going to do,” Rhule said.
Among Carolina’s targets in free agency are left tackle, offensive guard, tight end and cornerback. The Panthers also have been active trying to upgrade at quarterback.
According to league sources, Teddy Bridgewater was a part of last month’s offer to get Matthew Stafford from Detroit. The Los Angeles Rams ultimately got Stafford.
Rhule did not confirm reports that the Panthers were looking to move on from Bridgewater, saying he was Carolina’s quarterback as things stand now.
“Teddy is a tremendous professional and Teddy is a tremendous person,” said Rhule, adding he’s spoken with Bridgewater. “He’s controlling what he can control. He’s having a great offseason. Can’t wait for him to get back here.”