ClutchPoints
The Carolina Panthers are in an awkward position as a franchise. Carolina finished the 2024 regular season with a 5-12 record and missed the playoffs once again. The 2024 season was certainly a transitionary period, especially with head coach Dave Canales in his first year with the Panthers. His team did begin to gel together towards the end of the regular season. That said, it was clear that they lacked the horses to be truly dangerous to most of their opponents.
Despite the rough 2024 campaign, the future is bright for the Panthers. The Panthers now have renewed confidence in QB Bryce Young after some early-season drama surrounding his benching. Carolina has already spent significant resources upgrading their offensive line. They already have a handful of young playmakers, including first-round pick Xavier Legette and promising running back Chuba Hubbard. The Panthers are also praying that Jonathon Brooks will recover from his ACL injury and become a dynamic player as well.
Now the Panthers simply need to add more weapons around Young and they could have a dangerous offense in 2025.
However, on the defensive side of the ball, things are not as optimistic. Carolina has a few young stars, including defensive lineman Derrick Brown and cornerback Jaycee Horn. They have precious little else to build the unit around. This is surprising for a team that spent literally every draft pick on defense during the 2020 NFL Draft.
As a result, the Panthers will likely invest significant resources in upgrading their defense during the 2025 offseason. That could mean making a number of changes on that side of the ball, including moving on from multiple players who no longer fit Carolina’s timeline.
But who could these cap casualties be?
Below we will explore one Panthers player who could become a surprise cut during the 2025 NFL offseason.
Jadeveon Clowney is one of the few recognizable names on Carolina’s roster. He may arguably be one of their best defensive players who is under contract for the 2025 NFL season.
Regardless, Clowney could make for a tempting salary cap casualty this offseason.
Clowney has been an impactful player wherever he has played during his 11-year NFL career. The Panthers signed Clowney during free agency in 2024, hoping to get the last drops of brilliance out of him. After all, Clowney had just posted nine-and-a-half sacks with the Ravens in 2023.
Unfortunately, he has not been as productive in Carolina. Clowney did manage 46 total tackles with five-and-a-half sacks in 2024, but his impact did not elevate the players around him like Carolina hoped.
If the Panthers were to move on from Clowney, they would save $7.75 million in cap space in 2025. That may not sound like a lot, but Carolina enters the offseason with only $20.87 million in cap space, to work with. Therefore, increasing that number to $29 million in cap space could make a big difference. It may even...
