Over the last several weeks we’ve looked back on Scott Fitterer’s first year as the Carolina Panthers general manager and assessed his performance in salary cap management, free agent signings (offense, defense), the 2021 draft, and player trades. It’s now time to give Fitterer his final report card from his rookie season. A “C” grade reflects meeting expectations, so anything higher than a “C” means Fitterer exceeded expectations, while any grade below a “C” means he fell short.
Salary cap management: C
Fitterer met expectations managing the salary cap by freeing up about $20 million with some straightforward player releases, including Kawann Short ($8.7 million) and Stephen Weatherly ($5.9 million). He made solid moves in restructuring the contracts of Christian McCaffrey and Shaq Thompson to free up about $12 million then smartly invested that money in extending right tackle Taylor Moton on a four-year, $72 million deal.
Those good moves were largely offset by making the fateful decision to exercise Sam Darnold’s fifth-year option at nearly $19 million, which looks like a huge mistake. But if Panthers didn’t have Darnold at $19 million in 2022, they’d probably be paying about that much anyway to the quarterback who would have needed to replace him on the roster (unless they draft and start a rookie in 2022). The decision to restructure center Matt Paradis’s contract and kick an additional $5 million in dead money into 2022 didn’t age well, either. But overall Fitterer met expectations managing the salary cap.
Free agent signings: B-
Free agent signings need to be looked at in terms of production versus cap hit, so the higher the contract, the higher the expectations. Fitterer made some solid additions with defensive end Haason Reddick (1 year, $6 million), linebacker Frankie Luvu (1 year, $1.1 million), defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (1 year, $4 million), cornerback A.J. Bouye (2 years, $7 million), and running back Ameer Abdullah (1 year, $990,000).
But Fitterer’s grade in the free agency space was dragged down by the contracts and subpar play of tackle Cameron Erving (2 years, $10 million) and guard/center Matt Paradis (3 years, $13.5 million). On the whole, Fitterer exceeded expectations when signing free agents.
The 2021 draft: C+
Fitterer’s performance in the draft was looked at through three lenses - draft day trades (where he was awesome and received an “A” grade), draft strategy in Rounds 1-3 (D+), and the quality of players drafted (C+). The Panthers rookie general manager absolutely nailed his draft day trades by moving back from No. 39 to No. 59 and gaining five additional picks, including a valuable No. 83 selection.
Where Fitterer fell short was in his draft strategy in the critical first three rounds, especially in the first round by selecting cornerback Jaycee Horn instead of a quarterback in Justin Fields or Mac Jones, or shoring up the left tackle spot with rookie Pro Bowler Rashawn Slater. To be clear on Horn, I really like him as a player but Carolina had far more pressing needs at quarterback and left tackle, and they still have those gaps today. In the second round Fitterer went with a luxury pick at wide receiver in Terrace Marshall Jr. on a roster that already featured DJ Moore and Robby Anderson. As far as the quality of the players drafted, he slightly exceeded expectations as Jaycee Horn was great in limited action, Brady Christensen looks like a future starter somewhere on the offensive line, tight end Tommy Tremble and running back Chuba Hubbard were fine for rookies, while fifth rounders in defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon and cornerback Keith Taylor made surprisingly positive contributions.
Player trades: D
Player trades is where Fitterer performed like a rookie. Acquiring Sam Darnold for three draft picks — second, fourth, and sixth rounders — was a huge mistake that is stalling the Panthers rebuild. Jettisoning middle linebacker Denzel Perryman, who was on a delicious 2-year, $6 million deal and made the Pro Bowl for the Raiders, to swap a 2022 seventh round pick for a sixth rounder was an absolute disaster. While some Cat Scratch Reader faithful disagree with me on this, I view the C.J. Henderson trade in a negative light. I’d much rather have a very valuable No. 70 overall pick in the 2022 draft and a serviceable tight end in Dan Arnold on a 2-year, $6 million deal than a young, struggling cornerback in CJ Henderson and the No. 144 pick in 2022.
Fitterer redeemed himself a bit by landing Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore for a 2023 sixth round pick which made perfect sense at the time when Carolina was sitting on a 3-1 record and having just lost Jaycee Horn for the season. Fitterer also managed to get some pocket change for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (sixth round pick) and tackle Greg Little (seventh round pick).
Fitterer’s final overall grade: C
When rolling all of Fitterer’s individual grades together he comes out with a 2.1 on a 4.0 scale, which earns him a “C” grade. On the whole the Panthers rookie general manager ever-so-slightly exceeded expectations in his first year on the job.
If not for a couple of questionable trades (Darnold, Perryman, Henderson) and missing out on potential long-term solutions at quarterback or left tackle in the 2021 draft, Fitterer could’ve had a really strong first year in office.
For as much as I hate to say this as a Panthers fan, this team over the last three years has been disappointing, frustrating, and worst of all, boring. Carolina is 15-34 over the past three seasons and apathy has settled in across large segments of a once passionate fan base. The team still does not have a clear, inspiring plan in place to become a relevant playoff contender.
The monumental task of creating the blueprint and executing the details in getting back to relevance rests with general manager Scott Fitterer. Let’s hope he learned some valuable lessons during his so-so first year on the job and can now accelerate the Panthers rebuild in 2022.
Poll
What grade do you give Scott Fitterer?
This poll is closed
-
1%
A or A-
-
13%
B+ or B
-
26%
B- or C+
-
34%
C or C-
-
19%
D+ or D
-
5%
D- or F
Loading comments...