How much cap space do Panthers save with Jaycee Horn mega-deal?

Extending Jaycee Horn allows for some more flexibility in Carolina.

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The Carolina Panthers kicked off their free agency spending extravaganza by killing two birds with one stone. They inked star defensive back Jaycee Horn to a record-setting four-year, $100 million extension that completely reset the cornerback market across the NFL. Horn's $25 million annual salary makes him the highest-paid corner in the NFL just ahead of his contemporaries Jalen Ramsey ($24.1M), Patrick Surtain ($24M), and Jaire Alexander ($21M).

With the extension, Carolina also created $9 million in cap space to spend this offseason. For a team with as many holes as the Panthers, every dollar becomes crucial in their quest to climb out of the league's gutter.

How will Carolina spend their extra cash?

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That $9 million can be spent in a number of ways. On Monday morning, Joe Person of The Athletic reported that the Panthers are going to be "big-game hunting" in the interior defensive line market. Milton Williams, a 26-year-old Super Bowl champion defensive tackle who most recently suited up with the Eagles, is the best free agent on the board according to NFL.com. Flaunting some extra cash to fluff up a contract offer to the game-wrecking talent on the defensive front could be the key to swaying his pending free agency decision.

If Carolina doesn't spend that $9 million all in one place, they could divide it up among a number of cheaper impact defenders (Javon Hargrave, Paulson Adebo, Dayo Odeyingbo come to mind) in an attempt to plug various holes with a multitude of solid players instead of spending big on a splash signing.

However Carolina decides to spend their extra cash, the added flexibility that comes with retaining a key contributor for the long-term is a shrewd piece of business for Dan Morgan and company. An extended run of poor financial decisions on top of letting impact players walk out of the Bank of America Stadium doors seems like its finally coming to an end.

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