Immediately following Chris Long’s release from the Los Angeles Rams, Panthers fans began to salivate. The second overall pick in the 2008 draft is suddenly up for grabs. It also comes at a position of need for the Panthers, the defensive end spot where Jared Allen’s departure leaves a hole.

Yet, while it sounds great in theory, here are a few reasons that Long shouldn’t be a Panther.

Age

Long will be 31 by the time the 2016 season starts. While the Panthers do need help at defensive end, Long would be nothing more than a stop-gap player. Keep in mind that Allen was 33 when he retired and Carolina already has a situation with Charles Johnson turning 30 next season. Teams want to get younger, not older and Long wouldn’t help the Panthers on that front at all.

Production and injury

A lot of people think about Long’s prime when they think of his production. Yet over the last two seasons, he has started just 11 games and has only four sacks. Ankle and knee injuries have kept Long from seeing the field, and those don’t typically disappear in linemen who are 30 years old.

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Price

The free agent market will ultimately determine Long’s price point, but he is a former high first-round draft pick with a few seasons of great production. Given the price of defensive ends with that type of pedigree, Long wouldn’t come to the Panthers cheap.

Long’s cap hit in 2015 was an estimated $10 million, and when combined with what other players of his position are earning, he will see a decent-sized contract even if only a two-year deal. I have it estimated out at $6.5 million per season, putting him far too expensive for a Panthers team where he will be a rotational player if he can stay healthy and productive.

Draft and development

The Panthers are sitting in a deep defensive end draft this season. A lot of mock drafts have the team grabbing guys like Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd with their 30th overall spot in the first round. There is little reason to spend the money on a rotational player like Long in free agency when you are likely going to select a young prospect early in the draft and pay him peanuts.

What’s worse is that having Long on the roster would ultimately hurt the development of the young players Carolina has on its roster. Many expect Kony Ealy to step up as a full-time starter on the other side of Charles Johnson. Mario Addison and Ryan Delaire are young guys that should factor into a rotation even without a draft pick taking up an extra roster spot. Long would push those guys down even further, potentially kicking one of them off the team.

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Overall

When you think about how much Long would cost, how little he’s produced over the last few years and where the Panthers are trying to go with the position, he just isn’t a good fit. Carolina would probably want to use that money to fix up the offensive line, lock up some other players that will be free agents soon, and patch up a secondary that is getting older.

That won’t mean that the Panthers aren’t looking at him. If Long bounces around this offseason with no contract offers, the Panthers could lowball him in the hopes that he wants to go to a winning franchise and mentor young players. He’d have to understand that it wouldn’t be a starting role and he’d have to fit into the Panthers’ salary cap, but it could happen in that case.