Panther Free Agents-Resign them early or a strong chance to lose them!

I understand the new agreement between the owners and players will give teams three days to resign their free agents prior to free agency opening for all teams. We need to resign DeAngelo Williams and Charles Johnson quickly to reduce the chance of losing them! You know Denver will be after Williams and Atlanta after Johnson! Thomas Davis and James Anderson are key to resign as well!

 

am a bit worried they'll overspend, but it'll be OK if they can retain good talent.

 

Am I the only Panther fan that wouldn't put a premium on signing DeAngelo Williams? RB's are just not a safe bet any more. We have Stewart, Goodson, Sutton, Fiametta.

I would put our FA priorities in thisDT order;

1. DE/DT C. Johnson
2. LB T. Davis
3. FA Corner - if C. Gamble can be had reasonable fine
4. WR Smitty or trade for a player and sign a FA WR
5. LB J. Anderson
6. FA DT
7. RB D. Williams
8. FA QB Veteran

As good as Williams is, he is not critical to sign. He is a luxury.

 

I don't even think Collin would sign him for the biggest deal.
It's fine if he stays, he's on average still our best back and probably the one that would benefit from this O as much as anyone, but it's still duplication, our 3rd best RB without DW is better than our best DT.

 

This is the point in Williams career where the Patriots would have dumped him without so much as a kiss goodbye.

 

They would at least get something for him. That's what good teams do.

 

When we drafted Stewart it basically meant DW was going to be gone when his rookie deal was up. I think we move on without him. He is still a good player with a couple of good years left in him but we do not need him and he would probably rather play for a team that can win right away. Running backs have a short shelf life.

I am much more concerned about keeping Charles Johnson and either Anderson or Davis (or both).

 

I hesitate to start another argument (sincerely), but I point out yet again that this team went 2-14. Overspending would be a bad idea because it wastes what little advantage we have with cap room. I'd like James Anderson back, but only at a reasonable cost. I'm a big fan of DeAngelo Williams, but it would be a bad use of cap space. Kalil is a good player, but hopefully won't get a truly elite contract. Charles Johnson is probably the only one of the free agents that the team really can't let get away, and that's due to the dearth of alternatives available, especially those who can play effectively at LDE.

 

All of your points on not resigning DeAngelo Williams are well taken! Backs do have a short life in most cases. I do have mixed emotions on the whether to resign or let Williams go to another team. However, in the end, I would prefer to keep him if we can do so without breaking the bank. DeAngelo is a difference maker! He can break the long ball. Remember, his career should be longer than most backs because of his carries per game being reduced because of Stewart. Even Hurney and Fox had talked about that fact. With the rookie salary cap resulting in the Panthers paying much less for Cam, we will have room to spend some of those savings on DeAngelo. For Cam's success, I believe we need both DeAngelo and Stewart. This will take the pressure off of Cam and help him to be successful out of the block. Both Williams and Stewart are great backs, but if I could only keep one of the two, it would be DeAngelo. Stewart, by far, has been more injury prone, and ultimately; I believe will have a shorter career.

 

I'm holding out some hope that he would stay for a discount price, but if I were him, I would cash in. Sucks. I think he's a great player.