As he walked through a crowd of media and photographers, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman cracked a joke and a smile on his way to the practice field to catch a glimpse of mini-camp workouts.
Gettleman, who is entering his second season with the team, is a larger than life personality at times. His thick Boston accent and gym wear are staples at Panthers practices. Unlike team president Danny Morrison, who is always in a suit and tie, Gettleman's relaxed attitude almost contradicts his business-first mentality that has headlined a chaotic Panthers offseason.
Pinpointing his plan has become difficult at times. Gettleman has made everyone aware of his low-budget indie-film intentions with cap room. Money is not something that the Panthers plan to spend freely--mainly because they can't. Handicapped by questionable moves from his predecessor, Gettleman was forced to make tough decisions--none bigger this year than Steve Smith.
On paper, the move was hardly significant. Smith's hit against the cap didn't justify more than a renegotiation--and was hardly going to play a role until 2015. It was a move intended to change the landscape. Smith, and former offensive tackle Jordan Gross, were members of a different regime. An old regime. Change was needed.
Gettleman--and presumably Jerry Richardson--was ready to hand the reigns over to Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly.
Support, Gettleman reassured fans, would come in the draft.
That's why eyebrows were launched into space yesterday when the Panthers lost sixth-round draft pick Tyler Gaffney on waivers to the New England Patriots. How does a team and a general manager that place so much emphasis on draft picks just give one away?
"He had a real quality senior year at Stanford in the type of downhill run attack that we like, " Gettleman said to the Charlotte Observer in May. "Tyler's got good skills that we like - the ability to run the ball, pick up the blitz and he's a very tough and very smart kid."
The Panthers didn't take an offensive tackle among their six picks in the 2014 draft, but were willing to risk parting ways with one of its six picks after one play in training camp.
Make no mistake, the mentality surrounding the Panthers is to build from within. It's why Kony Ealy is being groomed to replace Greg Hardy. It's why Mario Addison is signing extensions and why players like Melvin White and Robert Lester are targets for development.
And it's what makes yesterday so baffling. To have such limited access to new talent and to waste money and space on one who isn't worth more than a single day in training camp is an unfortunate blemish for Gettleman.