CAP ALERT: What the 2026 NFL Salary Cap Means for the Carolina Panthers

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The 2026 NFL salary cap numbers are out.

What does that mean for the Panthers?

Tell you that right here on Lockdown Panthers.

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every day.

Welcome in to another edition of the Lockdown Panthers podcast, the part of the Lockdown

Podcast Network.

I'm your host, as always, Julian, Council, Talking Carolina Panthers.

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you listen to your favorite podcast on Friday afternoon, the NFL announced to all 32

of its teams that the 2026 salary cap is set making a $22 million jump from last year

all the way up to $301.2 million per club this season.

Head in another $77.6 million in benefits and that's $378.8 million per club in player

spending.

Of course, yet again, for another year, a record amount of spending per team in a national

football league looking specifically at the Carolina Panthers over the cap.com has them

with $10.2 million in salary cap space as the new league year is set to kick off on March

11th at Wednesday at 4 p.m. Eastern time.

Next Wednesday that is we're right around the corner from that being the case.

The Panthers currently have the 18th most cap space in the NFL and looking at dead money

which is money from players who are no longer on the roster.

The Panthers actually have more dead money right now than they actually have salary cap

space.

$14.3 million in dead money, Austin Corbett who had a void year in his deal that he signed

last year.

That's $4.4 million, Adam Thiel and the Panthers traded to Minnesota.

He had a void year when they reworked his deal last off season to give him more money.

That's $3.3 million, Chey total.

They also restructured his deal last off season, $3.2 million of dead money.

Josie Jewel had a void year also in his deal, $2.3 million, DJ one, $600,000 and then DJ

Johnson, $250,000 and getting Carolina all the way to $14.3 million of dead money while

they have $10.2 million of salary cap space.

The good thing is they're not in the red.

They're not having to worry about having to find space.

There's a ton of teams that I think a dozen of them, maybe not dozens, but like 10 teams

or so that have to figure out how they can open up space because currently they're over

the caps.

The Panthers are right now under the salary cap, but $10.2 is not nearly enough for

them to want to do what they want to do here, starting, well, probably right now they're

going to see this week.

We've already seen the chiefs make some moves, teams across the league make moves, Panthers,

as of this recording on Monday morning, have not made any significant moves, try to open

up salary cap space.

We have talked about plenty of things that they could do, like cutting Asian Robins and

that appears to be the cleanest move, not trading him.

I think would be the preference that they're going to move on from Asian who very clearly

have last season and the year prior that has been their second best offensive tackle.

And behind Derek Brown, if you move on from Asian, there are questions about Turkworn,

especially against the run.

And he was banged up last year a lot.

And then Bobby Brown, the third he has come in and played better, Cam Jackson will really

be his first opportunity this fall if they do move on from Asian to show why the Panthers

took him into fifth round last year out of Florida.

So you do question just the overall, what the floor would be, I suppose, if they move

on from Asian by either cutting him or trading him, but that would seem to be a move that

makes a lot of sense for the Panthers.

I don't think they want to move on with Tommy Trimble.

There's a way to open up cap space that way, extending it to a quantum is a very easy

thing to do.

And there are plenty of restructures they could decide to do as well.

You look back the last off season, they didn't really do a ton of that.

Adam Thielen, they did.

But it only cost them this year, $3.3 million.

Shy Tuddle, they did cost them $3.2 million.

They weren't really into doing a bunch of restructures so far under Dan Morgan and Dan Brantillus

as sorry, cap expert for them, the last two off seasons.

And I would not expect that to change this off season, but it's possible considering

whether at that they may want to do that.

There are players like JC Horn, like Derek Brown, that they're going to be here for a while.

Maybe they find a way with guys like Damien Lose, extend him.

Mike Jackson doesn't really open up a ton of space.

We'll see what they decided to do, but right now $10.2 million, that's where they're sitting

with the sorry cap.

Now over the cap.com, they have a list of transactions that each team could do that can open up some

space from the most basic and open up to the least space.

Let's take a look at what the Carolina can do.

All their options, sorry, cap wise here in just a moment on Locked On Panthers.

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Taking a look at some of the options the panthers have to open up some salary cap space as

the NFL has set the salary cap at $301.2 million for the 2026 season the panthers currently

sitting with 10.2 million dollars of salary cap space will certainly need much more than

that in order to do what they want to do this off season to improve this roster and looking

over the cap dot com they have a list of potential transactions by team listening

out every single thing like I'm looking at it.

This is a long scroll that the panthers can do of this off season like they could do something

like cutting 10 or Macmillan would cost them $16 million salary cap space.

They're obviously not going to do that so that lets you know every single potential transaction

that they can make now the top transaction they can make to save salary cap space is

to trade Ikea I do not believe that is going to happen if anything they're going to extend

Ikea.

So trading him would all float his entire salary which is $17.5 million is getting from

his fifth year option that is also his cap hit they're not going to do that Robert Hunt

extension that would open up $14 million I have a hard time believing that would be something

they want to do extending their brown would open up 13.9 again don't know if they want

to do that so early into a deal he signed a couple of years ago that really just kicked

in this past season chase the horn same kind of situation they just extended them last

year I believe it kicks in this year they could extend him be $13 million so that does

not make a lot of sense now the first one as far as like the major cap savings that actually

makes sense that they put up here is extending a Kekwana which we talked about will open

up $13 million salary cap space I think it's going to happen now we didn't really get

any answers last week about where Ikea is at as far as his timeline my guess is just

based off of Josh Simmons who was Adelaide state ruptures Patella tendon then was ready

to go by training camp last July for the chiefs that was nine months now he had a lot

longer to get ready for the actual season the play games then for Ikea it happened in

January and we know games are going to start in September so I would not expect him to

be ready for training camp and I expect him to be ready for week one the hope is just

based off of Simmons timeline we're looking at nine months he'll be right around mid

October maybe in early November to come back this upcoming season so he will be back

at some point in time it appears that he has earned the right to be the franchise left

tackle and they gave the fifth year option last year he played well he's been overall

durable this is the only significant injuries ever had in his career in Carolina that's

you want to pay so I expect that it will happen will it happen this off season no one

asked last week as far as I know whether it was on camera or in the scrum after with Dan

Morgan whether they were interested in trying to extend the key this off season they do

they can open up $13 million very easily they can do that Damien Lewis they could cut them

post June one that would save $12.9 I don't know that's going to happen if anything you

want to open up some space by extending him now these are ones that could potentially happen

if you think about it JC Horn not going anywhere they could restructure his deal and open

up 12.3 million dollars of cash salary cap space so far they have not shown the past two

off seasons that being Dan Morgan and Brent Tillis and appetite to restructure to that

level maybe they will this off season Rob Hunt he has been solid for them went on the

field he missed a ton of last season they could restructure him and open up 11.8 million

dollars Derek Brown who like JC Horn is not going anywhere they could restructure his

deal and open up 11.6 million dollars so really JC and looking at Derek Brown with those

are two guys think about maybe they want to restructure them I don't think extension is

in line for Tron Merrig or Taylor Moten but really the next one that comes up that you

would think would be realistic is a shot Robinson they can cut them they can be can post

June one cut they get trade them it's ten and a half million dollars either way with

those three scenarios which then would leave over two million dollars in dead money this

upcoming season so that absolutely could happen they talk about extension return Wharton

that's not going to happen there Brown getting traded not going to happen Merrig being traded

don't think that's going to happen Damien Lewis extension I've talked about that that again

open up opens up nine million dollars of salary cap space for the Panther so they have

options plenty of them to open up space and the ones that look at that can open the most

that would make the most sense to me would be extending it key would be extending Damien Lewis

open up that nine million potential restructures for JC offer Derek Brown and that's been

in cutting a Sean Robinson or trading a Sean Robinson that would be the top four or five

that would make the most sense are as far as making open up the most salary cap space

for Carolina coming up in the next week as we'll see them likely starting today Monday

afternoon maybe Monday morning after I put this out right there I'm done recording this of course

I will be when they decide to make a move that's when we'll probably start seeing some of these

transactions happen over the next couple of days which will then impact what they need to do

free agency wise then looking at the draft what may be their needs then as well but right now

as things stand a Panthers have 10.2 million dollars in salary cap space and they are set to

eventually make some move that's going to wrap up this edition of the lockdown Panthers

podcast bar lockdown podcast network us by yours Julie Julie and council again y'all subscribe

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