Panthers restructure Taylor Moton’s contract, nearly doubling cap space before free agency
The Panthers have restructured the contract of right tackle Taylor Moton, a move that will add $11 million in space to Carolina’s salary cap, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
Before restructuring Moton on Friday, the Panthers had about $12.3 million in cap space, according to overthecap.com. With free agency looming, Carolina nearly doubled its cap space.
Moton signed a four-year, $72 million extension last July. His $19.2 million cap hit was the highest on the team, but by prorating his 2022 base salary over future years, Carolina saves a chunk of cash it can now allocate elsewhere.
Carolina already re-signed tight end Ian Thomas, edge rusher Frankie Luvu and long snapper J.J. Jensen. The Panthers have 19 other unrestricted free agents, including Haason Reddick, Stephon Gilmore and Donte Jackson.
The Panthers spent some of their time in Indianapolis meeting with the agents of their unrestricted free agents. By restructuring Moton, Carolina improves its chances of retaining some of its key defensive players. Carolina is also expected to aggressively pursue offensive line help via free agency.
General manager Scott Fitterer will keep trying to free cap space before March 14, when teams can begin negotiating with other teams’ free agents. Teams can officially sign free agents and complete trades once the new league year starts on March 16.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Panthers restructure Taylor Moton’s contract, nearly doubling cap space before free agency."
