The Carolina Panthers haven’t won or lost any games since Dave Gettleman took over as general manager after last season. But you have to give Gettleman credit for one victory.
When it comes to the salary cap, Gettleman has pulled off a minor miracle. The Panthers were more than $16 million over the salary cap when Gettleman took the job in January.
As of Monday morning, the Panthers are $13.8 million under the 2013 salary cap. That’s been accomplished by a series of releases and contract restructures. But don’t look for Gettleman to go on any sudden spending sprees.
First off, it’s mid-August and there’s not much available. More importantly, Gettleman is likely to want to carry over as much cap space as possible to next year. The Panthers already have $126 million committed to a 2014 cap that’s likely to be slightly higher than $120 million.
The Panthers lead the NFC South in cap space for this year, but Tampa Bay is not far behind. The Bucs are $11.7 million under the cap.
The Atlanta Falcons are $7.5 million under the cap and the New Orleans Saints have $5.2 million remaining.