Charles Johnson signs, 6yr- $72mil

Johnson is only going to get better. He is only 24 years old and in the prime of his career. I don't think we grossly overpaid for him. Approximately 10-12 million per year is about average money for one of the top 10 DE's in the game. Hopefully, last year's 11.5 sacks was not a contract year let's get paid type of thing, and he continues to improve. If that's the case it will be well worth it. If we didn't resign him, where would our defense be? We would have been screwed.

I still am hoping for a quality FA:
CB (Johnathan Joseph CB Bengals would be nice)
DT (Cullen Jenkins GB or Brandon Mebane SEA)
WR (Malcom Floyd SD, Steve Breaston AZ, Sidney Rice MN). If we do that, we will be greatly improved.

 

Yeah, that's not true. It's possible that he could get better, but there's no real reason to expect that. This is not a guy with elite talent who is still developing his technique. He's already maxed out in those terms, so I really don't see how he gets any better. It's a mistake to assume that will happen just because he's young. What Panthers fans really need to hope for is just that he continues to play at the 2010 level, which he certainly might, but that's no guarantee either. Guys like Bobby McCray and Robert Geathers had similar progressions over the beginning of their careers, culminating in a borderline Pro Bowl level that third full season, then disappeared forever. I don't think Johnson will do that, but it still makes me really nervous since he hasn't established that level of performance over more than one full season.

He's really close to Julius Peppers money once you factor in the amount of funny money at the end of Pep's deal. It's also a lot more than Terrell Suggs got two years ago. We'll see what Ray Edwards gets and what some of the top DEs get in extensions, but Carolina definitely paid top dollar and didn't get any sort of hometown discount.

Sounds like the Seahawks have gotten hot on Mebane again, but he'd be my choice for the team to go big and get for the future. Joseph would be solid as well.

 

Don't bust my bubble. I am trying to look at it on the bright side and convince myself we didn't overpay him,lol.

 

It's not necessarily a bad move. If he sustains his 2010 production, then it's an ok contract, I was just hoping to get him for around $60-65 million.

 

You can look at the signing as hurting both us and the Falcons. The Falcons screwed us by driving the price up on our own player. We overpaid for him and I agree there is no guarantee that he will produce like he did last year over the length of his contract. On the other hand we kept a young and productive DE away from the Falcons and not only that, in doing so probably drove the price up on Ray Edwards possibly pricing the Falcons out. The Falcons desperately need help on that D-line if their defense is going to step up. Not sure what to expect out of Jerry at DT for them, but apart from Abraham nobody has been consistent for them. There are counting on signing someone like Johnson or Edwards. They might now have to settle from someone like Babin.

Ultimately we paid a premium to keep a player who had the 4th most sacks by a DE last year (7th overall). He's also strong against the run. We were a shit team and its hard to build anything that will be successful without retaining the talent you have.

 

Just heard CJ get interviewed on Sirius. Indicated he was shocked at the amount of money the Panthers threw at him. Also said Atlanta's offer wasn't close. They were the only other team he mentioned.

I still think the team is being run by the PR department. The only reason we are spending so much is because of the floor. While i am glad we kept CJ I wish Hurney had a clue about negotiations or player value. We could have gotten him cheaper. This contract was the first offer made by the Panthers. CJ said that in the interview. They didn't negotiate at all because it was so much more than they expected.

Had we signed him cheaper we may have had some money to make a play for a blue chip player somewhere else.

 

PLEASE someone do this to Hurney

 

God fucking damn it. That's what I inferred based on Johnson's comments after the deal, but it's depressing to hear that confirmed. So we basically offered far, far more than anyone else would have. Nice job, Hurney. Hey, maybe some of the local morons can Email me some more about how fucking great he is at his job.

 

Way to go Hurney. Get in a bidding war with nobody. Overpay for average. It's like he's running an NBA team.

 

CJ isn't average. He's young and he performed at a very high level in 2010. But offering vastly more than anyone else when you're the one who already had him is insane. It sounds like CJ's agent got the offer, said "HOLY SHIT!," and agreed to the deal before thirty seconds had passed.