The Carolina Panthers could add a nice chunk of salary cap space this offseason by subtracting one of their starters.
Joe Person of The Athletic emptied out his latest mailbag earlier this week. When asked about the team's pass rush, the longtime Panthers beat reporter opined that the defensive line may not be a spot that the front office will look to further invest in.
In fact, he believes Carolina could even part ways with a key contributor to give themselves more flexibility in the spring.
Person writes:
. . . the D-line seems like a place where the Panthers can trim a little fat to create cap space, with A’Shawn Robinson a potential cut as he enters the final year of his contract with a $12.6 million cap number.
Robinson started in 34 games between his first two seasons with the Panthers. He tied for the team lead in sacks (5.5) in 2024 and tied a career high with eight quarterback hits in 2025.
The former second-round pick will be entering the final season of his three-year, $22.5 million contract, where he's set to account for a $12.6 million cap number. His release, according to Spotrac, would save the Panthers $10.5 million in space with a dead cap hit of just over $2 million.
Outside of Robinson, Carolina's depth chart along the defensive trench includes Derrick Brown, Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown III and Cam Jackson.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers reporter names big potential cut candidate for 2026 offseason
