Panthers make splash, fire GM
Kirk Cousins and Le’Veon Bell fail to reach long-term deals with their teams before deadline
The NFL’s year of curiously timed GM firings continues.
The Carolina Panthers on Monday afternoon made Dave Gettleman the sixth NFL general manager to lose his job since the end of last season, and third since the conclusion of April’s draft.
Gettleman had been Carolina’s GM since 2013. The Panthers made the playoffs in each of his first three years, even reaching the Super Bowl after the 2015 season, when quarterback Cam Newton was named NFL MVP.
The Panthers and Newton regressed significantly last year, however; Carolina finished with a 6-10 record, last in the NFC South division. Gettleman had been heavily criticized for essentially cutting star cornerback Josh Norman in April 2016, without compensation, by rescinding the franchise tag Gettleman placed on him in early March 2016 after failing to sign the pending free agent to a new deal; contact talks had gone nowhere in the interim.
The Washington Redskins quickly outbid other teams for Norman, making him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL with a fiveyear, $75-million contract.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced Gettleman’s firing via a team announcement, “after much thought and a long evaluation of our football operations.”
Why now? Good question. Panthers training camp opens just a week from Wednesday.
While Monday was the deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign a long-term deal in 2017, Gettleman in April already had signed this year’s tagged player — star defensive tackle Kawann Short — to a five-year, $80.5-million extension. So that wasn’t it.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that the inability to resign Norman a year ago still rankled Richardson. Still, that all went down 15 months ago.
No reason was provided in the team’s statement, beyond Richardson’s unenlightening quotes, which included, “While the timing of this decision is not ideal, a change is needed.”
The two NFL GMs fired before the draft were Indianapolis Colts’ Ryan Grigson (replaced by Chris Ballard) and Washington’s Scot McCloughan (not replaced in name, although ex-Redskins QB Doug Williams was promoted last month to senior VP of player personnel).
The other two NFL GMs fired since the April 27-29 draft were Buffalo Bills’ Doug Whaley (replaced in May by Gettleman’s assistant GM, Brandon Beane) and Kansas City Chiefs’ John Dorsey (replaced by Brett Veach).
Apparently, Gettleman’s firing caught the entire Panthers organization off guard.
“The timing is nuts,” Rapoport tweeted. “#Panthers people were all on vacation.”
Adding to the curiosity, owner Richardson — who turns 81 on Tuesday — has battled health issues for more than a year. He has not attended the past two NFL annual meetings.
Ron Rivera remains Carolina’s head coach. Gettleman’s replacement will be the third GM he reports to.
Still Playing Tag
Neither quarterback Kirk Cousins nor running back Le’Veon Bell signed a long-term contract with his team by Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline for franchise-tagged players do so before next year.
So, Cousins will earn a guaranteed $23.9 million in 2017 from the Washington Redskins, under terms of his second consecutive franchise tag, which he has signed.
Redskins president Bruce Allen issued a statement, minutes after the deadline passed, that read in part:
“On May 2, right after the draft, we made Kirk and offer that included the highest full guaranteed amount upon signing for a quarterback in NFL history ($53 million) and guaranteed a total of $72 million for injury. The deal would have made him at least the second highest-paid player by average per year in NFL history.
“But despite our repeated attempts, we have not received any offer from Kirk’s agent his year. Kirk has made it clear that he prefers to play on a year-to-year basis.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers will pay Bell a guaranteed $12.1 million, under terms of his first-time exclusive tag. But Bell has yet to sign the tag contract, meaning he could conceivably skip all of training camp yet still receive his $12.1 million. The two sides reportedly negotiated Monday morning and afternoon, without reaching agreement.
Both Bell and Cousins would become free agents next March unless they re-sign with, or are tagged by, their respective teams for another season.
Only one other of seven NFL players tagged this year did not reach a long-term deal with his club. Los Angeles Rams CB Trumaine Johnson will earn a guaranteed $16.7 million on his second consecutive non-exclusive tag, which he has signed. He’ll earn more money than any other corner this season.
In the spring, the following four players tagged in March subsequently signed extensions with their clubs: defensive end Melvin Ingram with the Los Angeles Chargers (four years, $66 million); DE Chandler Jones with the Cardinals (five years, $82.5 million); DE Jason Pierre-Paul with the New York Giants (four years, $62 million); and DT Short with the Panthers.