Kawann Short's Future with the Panthers is Uncertain and He Knows It
In the first six years of his NFL career, defensive tackle Kawann Short was a staple in the Carolina Panthers defense. He's the kind of guy that you want to build your defense around up front. He's reliable, dependable, consistent, and, most importantly, a great teammate.
During those six years, Short totaled 270 tackles, 58 tackles for loss, 84 QB hits, 29.5 sacks, and six fumble recoveries. He was highly productive and considered one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league.
Unfortunately, the past two years have not been so kind to him as he has suffered back-to-back season-ending shoulder injuries. Since receiving his 5-year, $80 million contract extension in April of 2017, Short has appeared in just 19 games and five games in the last two seasons. With the NFL making a change to the salary cap for 2021, every team is going to have to be extremely cautious of the moves they make. For the Panthers, do they trust that Short will get back to full health and avoid getting injured again next season?
Now at age 31, Short is becoming the type of player you don't want to spend a lot of money on - an aging veteran that has not been able to stay on the field. Short is not oblivious to the situation and knows that hard decisions have to be made. His future with the Panthers will be one of them.
"I think that's probably a discussion we will have in the next couple of weeks or so," Short said. "It's a business, so I understand. I take it with a grain of salt if they don't or if they do. I'm still going to continue to do what I need to do to put myself in a position to play next year.
"We all grown here, so it is what it is. This is a ‘what can you do for me now’ type of business. So for me to have an injury back-to-back puts that hint in your head where you wonder if they want you or not. But at the same time, I can't worry about it. We have to cross that bridge when we get there. So right now, I'm still preparing like I'm going to be here next year to help this team win and help get us to the playoffs."
As for how KK is feeling? Well, it seems to be that he is ahead of schedule and should be ready for OTA's in the summer.
"I feel good. I'm on track. I'm way past where I was last year this time, so I feel pretty good about that. I'm progressing day by day and now, we're just working on strength. It'll be 12 weeks next week."
With the year that Derrick Brown had, it would not be surprising to see the Panthers part ways with Short and draft another interior defensive lineman or sign another veteran that has a proven track record of staying healthy.
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