According to a tweet from Steve Reed of the Associated Press, the Carolina Panthers will not use the franchise tag on any of their players this year.

The Panthers will not use the franchise tag on anyone. That means Andrew Norwell and Star Lotulelei will walk in free agency. Tough decisions but the Panthers already had a lot invested at those positions with Trai Turner and Kawann Short, respectively. — Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) March 6, 2018

As Reed’s tweet says, this means that both Andrew Norwell and Star Lotulelei will be allowed to test the free agent waters. It’s been reported already that the New York Giants are planning to make a very lucrative offer to acquire Norwell’s services, but no such word has been heard for Lotulelei. It’s possible the Panthers could still work out a long-term contract with their 2013 first round draft pick, but as of right now he appears to not be in their plans.

My take

That’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off.

For the past several weeks we’ve been discussing which of the two players the Panthers should try to retain, and right now it appears that the organization has decided that they’re going to go with Door No. 3 — neither. I’m not sure this is the right move or not. On one hand, the Panthers should try to keep their good players. But on the other hand, it’s probably not a good idea to tie up a ton of cap space by paying two guards or two defensive tackles top dollar when there are alternative solutions on the depth chart.

What do you think, Panthers fans? Should the Panthers let both of them go? Share your thoughts with us!