The Carolina Panthers are moving on from another longtime veteran.
The Panthers are cutting kicker Graham Gano, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday.
in a heartfelt goodbye post on Instagram.
After three years in Washington to open his career, Gano spent the past eight years in Carolina, which included four playoff appearances and a Super Bowl run.
Gano missed all of 2019 with a knee injury. In the meantime, the Panthers moved on with Joey Slye. Now they'll make the switch permanent.
When healthy, the 33-year-old Gano is a reliable booter with a good leg. In 12 games in 2018, he made 14 of 16 field goals, including a 63-yarder, and hit 30 of 33 PATs.
It's unclear if he's fully healthy at this stage of his career, but given the consistent need for capable veteran kickers, Gano should find a job at some point this season. At the very least, he should be on nearly every team's check-in list if its kicker gets diagnosed with COVID-19 during the season.
The move saves the Panthers $2.8 million on the salary cap but leaves another $1.5 million in dead money the next two years. It adds to Carolina's already league-high dead money figure in 2020, which sat at more than $41 million before Gano's release. The high figure underscores the turnover the Panthers have endured as they overhaul the roster under Matt Rhule.
