If we were expecting new Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney to shake things up following the firing of Dave Gettleman, we can now throw that idea completely out the window. One of Hurney’s first orders of business was to sign star guard Trai Turner to a lucrative contract extension.
Now, with the Panthers set to begin the preseason within the next week, the team is looking to extend veteran tight end Greg Olsen and Pro Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis.
“I think we’re looking at all those guys,” Hurney said, via Pro Football Talk. “What we’re doing now is just evaluate where players are, looking at your veterans. You look at Thomas Davis, and he still has the same acceleration and physical tools as he had. Greg goes goes out there — Greg’s the only guy [who] hasn’t even taken a veteran day off yet. A guy who’s always there and done everything. So I think it’s just looking at those guys and trying to make the right decisions. Not just those two but the entire roster.”
Olsen, a three-time Pro Bowl performer, has two more seasons left on his deal at a base salary of $6.5 million per year. He’s coming off a strong 2016 campaign that saw him put up 80 receptions for 1,073 yards. To say that Olsen is underpaid would be an understatement. It’s been an area of contention between the tight end and the Panthers’ organization.
As it relates to Davis, here’s a linebacker that has suffered multiple torn ACL’s throughout a strong 12-year career. The 34-year-old former first-round pick put up 106 tackles, three interceptions and a touchdown en route to earning his second consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl in 2016. He’s set to become a free agent following the 2017 campaign and is earning a lowly $3.3 million base salary this year.
These are two long-time contributors to the Panthers’ success in the past. For Hurney to make a point of singling them out in potential extension talks, it shows us where the new general manager stands on the state of the Panthers’ roster.