Carolina Panthers’ centre Ryan Kalil gets non-exclusive franchise tag to prevent free agency
Centre Ryan Kalil is planning to sign a franchise offer sheet presented to him by the Carolina Panthers. Kalil will get a non-exclusive franchise tag which will guarantee 10.5-million-dollars in a one year contract and keep him off the free agency list.
His decision to sign is interesting because there is not much progress on a new collective bargaining agreement for next season, meaning there may not be a next season.
A non-exclusive franchised player may still be approached by other teams to acquire the player but can be kept on the team if they match the offer given to him by the other team. They make either the average of the top five salaries of the same position
of the previous year unlike exclusive franchise players who make the average of the same year.
The 25-year-old centre just went to his second straight Pro Bowl this year after being drafted 59th overall in the second round of the 2007 National Football League Draft. He is the first centre to be franchised since 1996 when the Detroit Lions
put the tag on Kevin Glover.
With Kalil becoming a franchise player, running back DeAngelo Williams and defensive end Charles Johnson will become free agents and leave the team if they wish.
Williams was drafted 27th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft and holds the team record for most career rushing yards with 4,211 and most rushing touchdowns with 31. He had the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL in 2008 with 18 as well as a total of
20 touchdowns. Williams went to his first and only Pro Bowl in 2009. In the 2009 season, he partnered up with Jonathan Stewart to become the first pair of team-mates to each rush for over 1,000 yards.
24-year-old Johnson led the team in sacks with 11.5, which ranks him as fifth in the NFL, and had 61 tackles in 15 games. He was drafted 83rd overall in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
The Panthers will have the number one overall draft pick come April and can decide to take a defensive end. A good candidate for this position would be Da’Quan Bowers from Clemson University. They also need a good defensive tackle, with Auburn University’s
Nick Fairley looking like a good player for the job.
After having two outstanding seasons with well over 1,000 rushing yards, Williams’ performance dropped dramatically with the Panthers ending the season as the worst team in the league. He had only 361 rushing yards this season and averaged only 4.1 yards
per carry before injuring his foot in late October.
With many other injuries on both lines, Williams was one of the many placed on injured reserve.
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