Chris Canty was back in Charlotte this week to his his football camp, but was hoping this offseason it might have been a longer stay.
Canty told Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer that he talked to Panthers General Manager Dave Gettleman about joining his hometown team, but was told there weren’t sufficient funds.
“They needed a lot of players. I think the direction they wanted to go was to get as many quality players as they could at a bargain price,” Canty said. “Quite frankly, I wasn’t going to be able to come in and play for what they would have liked, what they could have afforded.”
Canty eventually signed a three-year, $8 million deal with the Ravens.
The Panthers re-signed their own defensive tackle Dwan Edwards to a two-year, $3.6 million deal, plucked Colin Cole off the scrap heap for the minimum, and used their top two draft picks on Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short.
As much as Canty would have helped, investing the draft picks gives the Panthers a chance to make a long-term improvement to the line, coupled with a strong group of pass-rushers. That enabled them to aim a little lower for help in the middle in terms of free agents.
