Your Carolina Panthers may not be at the top of the list that ultimately matters. But they are, at least, nestled amongst the top-three in three pretty pertinent categories.
One, which is relatively unsurprising given where they are in the rebuilding process, is age. The Panthers are currently the second-youngest team on average in the NFL.
Current #NFL Rosters by Age
Oldest
1. #Bears
2. #Texans
3. #CardinalsYoungest
1. #Lions
2. #Panthers
3. #Jetshttps://t.co/lSUFgEJ1Xu— Spotrac (@spotrac) September 2, 2021
According to Spotrac, the team averages out at 25.53, with the Detroit Lions being the only younger squad at 25.45. Their Week 1 opponents, the New York Jets, then follow up at 25.54.
Of their 53 active roster members, 27 of them have two years of regular-season experience or fewer. And if you extend that to practice squad members, that tally moves to 39 of 66 in total.
In another unsurprising rank, as long as you’re familiar with former general manager Marty Hurney, Carolina sits at No. 3 in dead cap space allocated for the 2021 season. So, yes, they’re paying out the third-highest amount of salary to players who don’t even play for them at around $45.6 million.
Some of the top beneficiaries include quarterback Teddy Bridgewater ($17 million), defensive tackle Kawann Short ($11 million) and retired linebacker Luke Kuechly ($7.1 million).
Then, for the third and actually surprising category (yay, we got one!), the Panthers now possess the second-most cap space in the league. Yes, with all of that dead cap and recent extensions for right tackle Taylor Moton and wideout Robby Anderson, general manager Scott Fitterer has somehow maneuvered his team into that spot.
Now, there’s not a ton to be done with it considering the regular season is just about underway and there aren’t any big-fish free agents out there anymore. To even have that resource, however, is a nice asset that can help roll over into 2022 as the rebuild progresses.
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