The Panthers have other productive defensive players in contract years besides defensive tackle Kawann Short.
But safety Kurt Coleman said he’s not going to raise any fuss about a new deal — which is probably convenient for him.
“I respect everyone that’s involved in the process and I’m trusting that both sides are going to do what’s right and what’s fair,” Coleman said, via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer. “Honestly, it’s out of my hands. My job isn’t to negotiate. I probably wouldn’t be that good at it. My personal feelings might get [involved]. I just control what I can control.”
Coleman was certainly a good piece of business by Panthers General Manager Dave Gettleman a year ago, coming in on a two-year deal and finishing with seven interceptions. This year, he’ll carry an even heavier burden, as they’ve blown up the secondary and are planning on surrounding the 28-year-old with a bunch of unproven kids.
He’s scheduled to make $1.35 million, and there’s a sentimental case to be made that he deserves more. But Gettleman hasn’t proven susceptible to sentiment when it comes to valuing his own players.
It probably doesn’t help Coleman’s case that even before now, the Panthers have always considered safeties fairly fungible. Mike Mitchell was plucked off the scrap heap had a good year in 2013, but Gettleman wasn’t about to pay him, letting him leave for a multi-year deal with the Steelers. Since then, the Panthers have always gone out and picked an annual safety off the tree and plugged him into a good defense. Some years it works (Coleman, Roman Harper) and some years it doesn’t (Thomas DeCoud).
But in none of those years were contracts passed out as rewards, not when they have players they value more highly waiting for their turn. The Panthers certainly value what Coleman brings to the table, but nothing they’ve done in recent years suggests they’re about to break the bank for anybody who plays his position.
