Bill Voth of the Black and Blue Review, citing a league source, reports that Panthers DT Kawann Short skipped the team’s voluntary OTA practices last week.
While contract talks between the two parties restarted after a brief pause, Voth mentions that Short’s unexcused absence “is a reaction to where those talks currently stand.”
The expectation right now is that Short will miss the third week of OTAs could also sit out next week’s minicamp.
As of now, it’s unclear how much Short and his agent are targeting in a potential contract extension, but Voth believes it could be more than the six-year, $85.5 million contract that includes $42 million guaranteed signed by Jaguars DL Malik Jackson a few months ago.
This means that Short may have his sights set on $15 million or more per year as part of a new deal.
The Panthers have made it clear that signing Short to an extension is among their top priorities. However, it sounds like there could be a sizable gap in contract talks.
Carolina elected to bring in more depth at defensive tackle when they used their first-round pick on Vernon Butler.
Short, 27, was taken in the second-round of the 2013 NFL Draft and is currently in the final year of his four-year, $4.630 million rookie contract. Short stands to make a base salary of $1,036,410 for the 2016 season before testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent next year.
In 2015, Short appeared in all 16 games for the Panthers and recorded 55 tackles, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, two recoveries and four pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 8 interior defensive lineman out of 123 qualifying players.
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