The Carolina Panthers may have yet another hole to fill this offseason -- tight end. Veteran Kris Mangum announced his retirement today after ten seasons with the Panthers and six seasons as the top tight end on the depth chart.Mangum spent his entire career in Charlotte and was known mostly as a blocking tight end, though that may have been partly because of the offense in which he played. He finishes his career with 151 catches for 1424 yards and 9 touchdowns in 126 games, which puts him at third on the Panthers' all-time games played list behind John Kasay and Mike Minter.
It's unclear to me what effect this has on the Panthers' salary cap status. The boys at the Charlotte Observer rearranged their web site, making it impossible to refer back to their listing of all the Panthers' cap figures. However, new offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson is looking for pass-catching tight ends now, and with Mangum retired, all he has to work with are Michael Gaines, Jeff King and Mike Seidman. Does this make Greg Olsen a possible first-round pick in the draft? I suppose we'll find out after the free agency period -- assuming the Panthers have any room to maneuver in free agency, that is.
