An $8.5 million piece of the Panthers’ puzzle at defensive end played out Thursday when Jared Allen announced his retirement in epic, cowboy fashion.
The Panthers were not going to bring Allen and his non-guaranteed salary back, but his decision kept the front office from having to cut a future Hall-of-Famer who brought professionalism and a play-hurt mentality to the locker room during his four-plus months in Charlotte.
The conversations with veteran defensive end Charles Johnson figure to be a little tougher.
Johnson, 29, is entering the final year of the six-year, $76 million contract he signed in 2011.