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Panthers GM: Cap space led to Norman’s release
- Updated: April 21, 2016
1:25 PM ET
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman didn’t hesitate when asked what he could do with the $13.952 million in salary-cap space he got after rescinding the franchise tag on cornerback Josh Norman.
Editor’s PicksMaking Josh Norman a free agent changed tone of Panthers’ pre-draft news conference
The Panthers aren’t likely to find a replacement for Josh Norman in the first round of the draft, but cornerback has become a position of need.
“A lot,” Gettleman said Thursday, the day after he made the Pro Bowl cornerback an unrestricted free agent.
Gettleman said the flexibility he got in removing Norman’s cap number and the unlikelihood that a long-term deal would be reached with the 28-year-old ultimately led to the decision to move on from him.
Norman was seeking what was projected he could get on the open market — between $15 million and $16 million a year — according to a league source.
A source told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that Norman is hiring Ryan Williams of Athletes First to be his primary agent. Norman is reluctant to sit through a five-day waiting period to change representatives while he looks for a new team, so current agent Michael George “eventually will be out of the mix,” the source said.
By clearing his tag number, the Panthers now have approximately $31 million in salary-cap space. That provides the flexibility to sign Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short to a long-term deal, as Gettleman has said he wants to do.
“I’ve said it before,” Gettleman said during what initially was a pre-draft news conference. “I struggle with our coaches working their fannies off, developing players and letting them walk. I don’t like that. I’ve always believed that the cap can be a great equalizer. I really believe it penalizes teams that draft well.
“You have to understand you can’t keep everybody. It’s impossible. So now you have to decide who you’re going to allow to graduate. We’ve got some …
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