Panthers made an under-the-radar contract decision ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but it might not be for what you think
The Carolina Panthers have restructured the contract of veteran right tackle Taylor Moton ahead of Tuesday’s 4:00 p.m. ET trade deadline. A sign that Dan Morgan would make a move? Not exactly.
Today is deadline day in the National Football League. Teams have until 4:00 p.m. ET to finalize any last minute trades before all trades become locked for the remainder of the league year. It’s going to be an incredibly busy day, and the Carolina Panthers might be a team that gets in on the action.
At 3-5, but in first place of the NFC South, general manager Dan Morgan could easily look to be a buyer or a seller ahead of this afternoon’s deadline. The problem is, the Panthers don’t have much cap space to work with to on-board a new contract. Well, it turns out, they actually do after an under-the-radar contract decision finally got reported.
On Nov. 6, the Panthers restructured the contract of veteran right tackle Taylor Moton, converting $5.3 million of his salary into a signing bonus. That move freed up $3.5 million in 2026 cap space, giving Carolina $3.9 million in available space.
What does this actually mean for the Carolina Panthers with the deadline looming?
Immediately, people assumed that this move meant that the Panthers will be aggressive in making a move prior to the 4:00 p.m. deadline. It’s possible that’s why the team freed up cap space, but it’s still not a guarantee. The $3.9 million in available space is still not a lot and a lot of it would be eaten up with a new contract coming in via trade.
But, again, don’t rule anything out. This does give Morgan more breathing room to work with if a trade is out there. That could be adding real depth at cornerback, or adding another offensive lineman to bring in the building.
“That’s all stuff we have to consider,” head coach Dave Canales said. “It’s the big picture though, right? This is a really good question for Brandt (Tillis) and Dan (Morgan) to be able to see what can we do. That dictates a lot in how active you can be at the trade deadline.”
The other thing to consider is that the Panthers still needed in-season spending money for things such as free agent signings if more injuries pop up over the final 9+ games. What’s also notable, and shout out to ESPN’s Mike Kaye, is that after the deadline cut veterans can be claimed off waivers, who usually have more expensive contracts.
The Panthers most likely addition, is going to be from within. This week, the Panthers are expected to get back wide receiver Xavier Legette and still have to activate offensive lineman Brady Christensen. Canales also had an optimistic update on running back Jonathon Brooks along with cornerbacks Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn.
“All just going through their processes to see when they’ll be ready to come back,” Canales said. “…I’m excited for where they are. We gotta take in the next two days to see where they are going into the weekend.”
Those would all be major returns for this team at the best time. So, for those anticipating Morgan making a deadline deal, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
