Carolina Panthers releasing defensive tackle Zach Kerr
The Carolina Panthers are moving on from another veteran defensive tackle.
Zach Kerr confirmed Monday to The Observer that the Panthers have informed him they will be releasing him Tuesday. Kerr has spent one season with Carolina.
The move will save the Panthers almost $1.3 million in cap space and leave behind $250,000 in dead money, per Over the Cap. Kerr first indicated his departure in an Instagram post Monday.
Kerr, who will turn 31 prior to the 2021 season, played in 13 games during the 2020 season and started four while part of the defensive line rotation. He had two sacks, 32 tackles, two tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits.
The defensive tackle signed a two-year, $3 million deal last offseason. The Panthers were his fourth NFL team after coming into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Delaware.
Defensive tackle is a position the Panthers need to address this offseason. The team has limited depth and no clear starter opposite last year’s first-round pick, Derrick Brown. The team will likely look to younger alternatives in free agency and the draft.
The Panthers are interested in bringing back Kawann Short, who was released earlier this year, but other teams are also interested. Signing Short, who just turned 32, would not fit an effort to get younger. Short missed a majority of the 2019 and 2020 seasons due to two different shoulder injuries. His absence last year reinforced the need to find a long-term solution to start next to Brown, although defensive coordinator Phil Snow used a rotation on the line throughout the season.
Defensive lineman Efe Obada, who played inside some during the 2020 season, is a restricted free agent, and the Panthers are currently not expected to tender him, per a league source. However, there is significant interest in keeping him a Panther.
Brown, sixth-round pick Bravvion Roy and practice squad player Mike Panasiuk are the only other defensive tackles currently on the Panthers roster.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 5:51 PM.
