The Carolina Panthers have begun the process of trying to get under the salary cap prior to the start of free agency.

The Panthers have restructured the contract of center Ryan Kalil. The move frees up about $2.2 million. That leaves the Panthers with about $131 million committed toward a salary cap that is expected to be slightly more than $120 million.

Kalil was given a $5 million signing bonus, but his base salary was dropped from $4.75 million to $750,000. His cap figured dropped from $8.6 million to $6.4 million.

The Panthers are expected to create the remaining salary-cap space by releasing players and restructuring more contracts.