No NFL team has less salary cap space than the Panthers going into the 2024 season

Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan has less cap sapce to work with than any other NFL GM right now.

Tim Weaver | Aug 31, 2024

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Carolina Panthers President of Football Operations Dan Morgan and Head Coach Dave Canales speak with the media as the Carolina Panthers introduce Canales as their new Head Coach at Bank of America Stadium on February 01, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

The Carolina Panthers have been the busiest team in the NFL over the last week. After they trimmed their roster down from 90 players to 53 they were more active than anyone else on the waiver wire, and since then they've been shaping and re-shaping and re-shaping their practice squad again.

They're not done working yet ahead of the start of the regular season, which comes next Sunday when the Panthers visit the division rival New Orleans Saints. On Thursday head coach Dave Canales told reporters that the team is still looking at a few options on the edge.

One free agent we know they're looking at is former Detroit Lions defensive end Charles Harris, who visisted the team earlier this week. While signing Harris at this point in his career wouldn't be too expensive, the Panthers are going to have to get really creative over the next few days to get under the salary cap.

Carolina Panthers salary cap space update

At the moment they are currently about $7.5 million over the limit, according to Over the Cap. That's the worst cap situation in the league right now by a good margin, as the Baltimore Ravens are second-lowest at -$3.8 million.

The good news is general manager Dan Morgan has a few options to create more cap room. For one, an extension for right tackle Taylor Moton would get them out of the red and also give them the space to make another splash signing - OTC says a Moton extension could save Carolina up to $13 million for the 2024 season. Extending wide receiver Diontae Johnson is another move that would go a long way towards closing that gap - extending him would save the team up to $7.1 million.

There are also a few trades the Panthers could explore that would also free up some room - dealing running back Miles Sanders would save about $3.27 million, and sending away veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen could save another $3.249 million.

If Morgan doesn't feel like doing anything that dramatic, he could use a common ploy that NFL executives use to create cap room - by converting players' base salary into signing bonuses. That's what the Cleveland Browns did with Deshaun Watson on Thursday, creating $38.5 million in cap space. Cleveland now has the most cap room in the league at over $51 million total.