It may be wise for the Carolina Panthers to put a giant "under construction" sign right in front of Bank of America Stadium. No, not because they are going to overhaul the facility itself, but because of the complete retooling of the roster that is currently taking place.
We first saw the franchise begin to change its masthead with the firing of longtime head coach Ron Rivera in the midst of last season. Since then, Matt Rhule has been hired to take his place, but there have been a number of familiar faces heading out the door. Greg Olsen (signed with Seattle) and Luke Kuechly (retirement) are just two of the more recognizable names that have elected to leave Carolina through one way or another. Now, Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner may be next as ESPN's Jenna Laine reports the Panthers are shopping the 26-year-old around the league.
It's admittedly a bit puzzling to see the Panthers trying to move on from Turner. In truth, he should be a player that Rhule and company would want to keep around for the long haul, especially given his success in the league and youth. Turner will be just 27 by the start of training camp, has been to five straight Pro Bowls, and has two years remaining on the four-year, $45 million contract he signed with Carolina back in 2017.
His cap hit does bump up to nearly $13 million for 2020 and balloons to $15.4 million in 2021, so that could be part of the reason why the Panthers are allegedly looking to cut bait. By getting rid of Turner now, they'd not only get what is likely to be a solid return for him in the trade market, but also clear roughly $3 million off their cap for next season.
Given the term still left on Turner's deal, his youth and reputation as one of the best interior lineman in the NFL, Carolina will likely see a number of teams lining up to try and acquire him in a deal to bolster its offensive line. Depending on what they're offering, the Panthers could pull the trigger, ship Turner out of town and continue the purge that is currently going on across the roster.
