Your quarterback just committed six turnovers in the play-offs and you’ve been knocked out by the Arizona Cardinals.
What do you do?
Well according to the Carolina Panthers you reward the quarterback with a lucrative contract with $12.5million in guaranteed money.
The quarterback in question is Jake Delhomme and late on Thursday night the Panthers realised their mistake and decided to cut their starting QB. Their mistake was a costly one, coming at $12.5million but after a season where Delhomme threw 18 interceptions in 11 games it’s not exactly hard to see why.
Add the fact that he only threw eight touchdowns in 2009; the Panthers were pretty much forced into the decision.
The move by the Panthers signals a new direction for the franchise who had Delhomme as their starting quarterback since 2003 when he led the team to the Super Bowl.
The Panthers also announced veteran defensive tackle Damoine Lewis would be released in order to save an extra $5million in payroll but leaves the defensive line seriously depleted after the club declined to put the franchise tag on Julius Peppers, who would have earned $20million.
"My cap number was a little high, about $5million. Anything can happen in that situation, with all of this stuff going with the CBA, I tried to be realistic. But I thought it was possible,” Lewis said.
"Coach Fox said it was more of an economic deal. He said it wasn't about the way I played, I feel like I had a good season. The only thing I didn't do was that my sack numbers were down,” Lewis added.
Carolina will now have to enter the free agent market as major players and will have to draft a quarterback to pair with backup QB Matt Moore.
But free agency may not be what the Panthers have in mind despite there being no salary cap this year. Early indications point to a team filled with youngsters looking to build for the future.
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