There were no new developments in the contract situation with the Carolina Panthers and DE Greg Hardy. The team has two weeks to decide whether to use the franchise tag, which would buy the team another year to negotiate with Hardy. However, if they do tag him, it would consume nearly all of the team’s unused cap space, which is a hefty price considering the team is looking to lock up franchise cornerstones QB Cam Newton and LB Luke Kuechly with huge deals in the next two years.

Footballguys View: The number for a franchise-tagged defensive end is expected to be just over $12 million. If they can’t reach a deal with “The Kraken” then he will be one of the hottest free agents on the open market.
Panthers | No easy solution with Greg Hardy