The Panthers are continuing to make cuts to their 53-man roster by releasing veterans to clear up cap space. Safety Tre Boston, defensive end Stephen Weatherly and punter Michael Palardy are all being released, according to reports.
Panthers will release S Tre Boston at the start of the league year, per source. @agetzenberg was first, I believe.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) February 19, 2021
Panthers have also informed P Michael Palardy and DE Stephen Weatherly they will be released, per league sources and first by @JFowlerESPN.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) February 19, 2021
These moves will give the Panthers around $33.5 million in cap space, if the current projection of a $180 million salary cap holds. (For what it’s worth, that’s just the minimum, and it’s possible it could be more after the league sets the official cap.)
Based on a projected cap of $180 million, the Panthers have about $33.5 million in cap space now.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) February 19, 2021
The only real surprise of the bunch is Tre Boston, who still had two years left on his deal. That’s probably why he will be designated as a post-June 1 cut to spread the dead cap over the next two years as opposed to eating all of it in 2021.
The Panthers will be releasing S Tre Boston, per source.
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) February 19, 2021
He will be a post-June 1 release, which means the team will save about $3.5 million as opposed to under $1 million otherwise. https://t.co/fUULICxH5Q
The Panthers have stated numerous times that they plan to be aggressive in their pursuit of a starting quarterback — and even attempted to acquire Matthew Stafford from the Lions before the Rams made a bigger offer — so these moves could be the beginning steps in their pursuit of current Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, a player the Panthers are reported to be attempting to acquire.
As always, stay tuned for more information on any further releases if/when they happen.