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The Panthers keep talking about a rebuild, but they have some debris to remove first.

And that includes some rather large debris.

According to Jourdan Rodrigue of TheAthletic.com, the Panthers aren’t expected to pick up the option on veteran defensive tackle Dontari Poe‘s contract.

He was due $9.8 million next year, but there are other considerations beyond the financial.

He’s turning 30 before the start of the season, and coming off surgery to repair a torn quadriceps. And also, the Panthers have a lot of other issues to address.

The lingering uncertainty about quarterback Cam Newton (which likely won’t be resolved for months), coupled with the retirement of Luke Kuechly, the jettisoning of Greg Olsen (who landed in Seattle), and a long list of free agents means the Panthers will have a completely different look next year.

The reconstruction will be most dramatic on defense, where they effectively have Kawann Short, Brian Burns, Shaq Thompson, Eric Reid, and not much else.