Matt Kalil: Panthers agree to sign former Vikings tackle
The Panthers are paying a steep price to sign former Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil.
The Panthers needed help at tackle, there is no doubt about that. Add that to the fact that Matt Kalil’s brother is starting center Ryan Kalil, and the easy connection is that Carolina were contenders to sign the former top-five pick. Still, it was a bit startling to see that the Panthers are reportedly paying Kalil $55.5 million, with $25 million of that being guaranteed, according to Tom Pelissero.
#Panthers will sign left tackle Matt Kalil to a five-year, $55.5 million deal with $25 million guaranteed, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 9, 2017
Michael Oher is still in concussion protocol from week four, and Mike Remmers is a free agent. Remmers was a liability and had to move from right tackle to left tackle last season in relief of Oher. Needless to say it worked out poorly. It makes a lot of sense that the Panthers would look to move on from Remmers and spend some money at the tackle position.
Still, that much money for Matt Kalil is insane. Sure, Kalil is a former No. 4 pick and has all of the “look the part” characteristics. Still, Kalil spent his first four seasons being a complete liability, and in his fifth season, he went on IR after two games with hip surgery.
It is hard to find a tackle in the NFL. On top of that, the cap has gone up significantly, and most teams are in terrific standing right now. Still, to spend so much on Kalil seems reckless.
His brother clearly could talk him into a discount, and it may hurt the Panthers moving forward as they still have other needs to address on both sides of the ball. Of course, if Kalil lives up to his draft status, it will be a bargain. However, at this point, it looks like a complete misread of his market.