Highlights from a Friday interview with Panthers GM Dave Gettleman

The Carolina Panthers will pick up the fifth-year option on wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, guaranteeing him about $8 million for the 2018 season, general manager Dave Gettleman said Friday.

The team had to make a decision on Benjamin’s fifth year by early May.

Benjamin has been inconsistent in both effort and performance since missing all of the 2015 season with a torn ACL. He had 1,008 receiving yards as a rookie in 2014, and 941 in 2016. Benjamin has 16 career touchdowns.

The Florida State product was selected in the first round, 28th overall, in the 2014 NFL draft.

Among other issues addressed by Gettleman on Friday:

▪  Defensive tackle Kawann Short has not yet signed his franchise tag tender, which would pay him about $13.5 million this season, but Gettleman expects that to happen soon.

▪  Gettleman says he thinks quarterback Cam Newton, who is set for shoulder surgery next week, will be ready by training camp in late July. Newton has a partially torn rotator cuff and a four-month recovery timeframe.

▪  Friday’s contract extension for Jonathan Stewart, through the 2018 season, won’t preclude drafting a running back.

▪  He said left tackle Michael Oher remains in protocol however is doing “NFL workouts not for the faint of heart.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Highlights from a Friday interview with Panthers GM Dave Gettleman."