Over the past week, the Panthers cleared up nearly $10 million in salary cap after cutting 3 of our most beloved veteran players.
The team cut defensive end Charles Johnson, safety Kurt Coleman, and legendary running back Jonathan Stewart.
The cutting of Jonathan Stewart is an especially hard blow to Panther fans, as he not only had one of the best personalities on the team, he also holds one of the highest number of records in franchise history, including;
- Rush attempts: career (1,501), playoffs (90), rookie season (184)
- Rush yards: career (7,318), playoffs (423), rookie season (836)
- Yards per carry: playoff season (5.22 in 2014), rookie game (8.67, 2008-11-16 DET)
- Rushing touchdowns: playoffs (5), playoff season (3 in 2015), playoff game (2, 2016-01-17 SEA)
- Total touchdowns, playoff game (2; with 3 others)
- All-purpose yards, rookie season (1,232)
- 100+ rushing yard games, playoffs (2)
Yesterday Stewart tweeted his thanks to our amazing city and team;
Thank you Carolina for an amazing 10 years! Grateful to God for the many blessings he’s given me and my family through the panther organization and the Charlotte community! Thank you panther nation for all of the love over the years! I will always #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/xT7rXo9RhQ
— Jonathan Stewart (@Jonathanstewar1) March 2, 2018
According to ESPN, Kurt Coleman reached a 3-year contract with the New Orlean Saints earlier this morning, which might really hurt us in future divisional games.
According to SB Nation, Buffalo appears to be looking to add a complementary back for LeSean McCoy in the form of a hard-running bruiser – Jonathan Stewart could be that perfect fit with his impressive 3rd down and goal line stats.
What are your thoughts on the release of Johnson, Coleman, and Stewart?