Panthers Want to Keep Gross

Today we’re hitting up an article from The Herald online to bring you the news that the Carolina Panthers are confident they can retain standout tackle Jordan Gross, who could possibly test the free agent market.  Gross will likely have the franchise tag applied to him, which will cost the Panthers somewhere in the seven million dollar range for a one-year deal.  While this price is certainly steep, it is nowhere near the $9 million-plus that teams had to pay last year to franchise tag a player of Gross’s caliber.  This year, the market is a bit more stable and sane, so the Panthers will likely try to keep Gross at least one more year.

Obviously, the Panthers would prefer to sign Gross to a longer deal.  Gross would also prefer to sign a long-term contract with the Panthers, and has voiced this preference to the media.  Both sides remain confident that they can reach an agreement on exactly what such a deal would entail, and these sorts of things take time.  At the very least, everyone simply wants to avoid the type of contract disputes we saw with certain players last year who were given the franchise tag.  Those players held out and were a big distraction to their teams.  If there is one thing the Panthers don’t want or need going into the 2008 season, it is any kind of negative distraction.

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