Its a question that plagues everyone. Are you ready for retirement? Many of us probably are ready emotionally, but not ready for so many other reasons. The same question applies to companies, and particularly sports teams. When you rely on one particular individual to do something for an extended amount of time, how do you ensure a smooth transition when they are ready to stop doing it?

The answer of course is proper preparation. Anticipating where you might soon have a need, and getting ready for it as early as possible to ensure that you don't have a lot of dropoff. Football players have amongst the shortest careers in professional sports while the teams they play for have to field some of the largest units. No one likes to force a rookie, no matter how talented, into starting duty right away. So how prepared are the Panthers for the departure of some of their elder statesmen?

OLB Thomas Davis, Age 33, 12 years exp.

2 years left on current contract. Likelihood to re-sign at that point: Unlikely

We all know the deal with TD. Three ACL tears and one broken arm that he played a Super Bowl through. He is currently still one of the best players at his position in the NFL, but one has to wonder how much more his body can take. No one can blame him for hanging it up at any point he decides, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him call it a career if the Panthers can win a Super Bowl this season. While a spirit like his could play forever, you have to imagine 35 is his ceiling, super bowl or not.

The Panthers are 100% ready for this eventuality, with the primary backup already getting meaningful reps in spot duty and doing a pretty good job while doing it. A.J. Klein won't likely be around to see TD's career end, but even in that case, you have to like the potential of Jeremy Cash to be next man up after Shaq.

Grade: A+

C Ryan Kalil, Age 31, 10 years exp.

1 year left on current contract (+2 voidable years). Likelihood to re-sign at that point: Likely

Ryan Kalil continues to be one of the best centers in the game, and generally a stand-up guy. To help the Panthers get out of a messy cap situation, he restructured his deal to pay him out over 2 extra years, that to my understanding will automatically void, though I expect the team will end up offering him a short contract to finish his career here as a Panther. It is hard to know with him, because he and the team have not been vocal about it at all.

While the Panthers have a backup plan in place, it is hard to imagine that Gino Gradkowski can take over without a drop off in production. Perhaps we will get a look this year and find out otherwise, but at this juncture it doesn't seem likely. Chris Scott is merely an emergency option.

Grade: C-

TE Greg Olsen, Age 31, 10 years exp.

3 years left on current contract. Likelihood to re-sign at that point: Neutral

Greg Olsen just finished his best season as a pro and was finally selected to his first Pro Bowl, but of course... did not get to go. Drat. Anyway, he hasn't shown any signs of decline, though he has definitely seen a huge uptick in usage, never leaving the field while the Panthers were on offense. Olsen has been an iron-man his entire career, with no significant injuries to report. Olsen also exhibits characteristics of a TE that indicate a longer than average career a la Tony Gonzalez. He doesn't rely on speed to get open, he possesses rather excellent route running and in-game awareness. One would typically peg a TE to retire at 34... but Olsen's hopefully continued good health and playstyle may get him to stay another season or two.

Current backups: Ed Dickson, Beau Sandland, Jake McGee

The Panthers know what they have in Ed Dickson, and that is a sturdy #2 TE. He will never be Greg Olsen. We all know that, but that shouldn't diminish his role here in any way. Beau Sandland is a total unknown and a late round pick, though he has some impressive measurables. Jake McGee arrives as a fairly toutable UDFA that may have a longer road to NFL relevance, but you never know. Point is, there is youth, and promising plans in place.

Grade: B+

WR Ted Ginn Jr., Age 31, 10 years exp.

1 year left on current contract. Likelihood to re-sign at that point: Very Likely

Ted Ginn still has the wheels that got him drafted as a 1st round pick down in Miami, and he still has issues with catching the football. While he has shown impressive catch ability on tougher passes, he still drops the occasional home run, and those are what he needs to be best at. Besides this, he is currently our starting punt returner, and that doesn't look like it will change. Ginn will remain relevant in the NFL until he loses a couple steps, as he remains one of the fastest people on the field. It is hard to say when that will happen, though I think it is longer than a year. I think he will re-sign a contract with Carolina if he is offered, as he clearly thrives here.

While Philly is likely to stick around here for awhile, he is not the wheel man that Ginn is, though does have better hands. Stephen Hill is hard to predict on both whether he still has that speed from pre-injury, and if he has figured out the other parts of the game. Damiere Byrd is a shot in the dark to ever line up at WR on this team. The Panthers could use more talent in the burner WR department, though Ginn might be around a bit longer.

Grade: B-

DE Charles Johnson, Age 29, 10 years experience

1 year left on current contract. Likelihood to re-sign at that point: No. Freaking. Clue.

We all know the deal. Charles Johnson was released this off-season and came back to the team taking drastically less money to do so. We know he likes it here, but there are SO MANY factors at play for his future. Can he return to form after a down 2015? Did he sign here to play on the best front 7 in the NFL and boost his value? If he has a great season, will Gettleman offer him the contract he wants? To many factors, and I don't know what to think. Yes. He is still young, but certainly has a lot of mileage on him.

I am extremely surprised that Gettleman did not add another DE in this draft. Out of that list, I do not currently see another every down DE. I see some youth and potential, but not much proven talent to replace a guy with 1 certain year left in Carolina, especially for a team that values pass rush like we do.

Grade: D

Others:

FB Mike Tolbert, Age 30, 9 years experience

Tolbert likes the team and the team likes Tolbert. If he is willing to keep his contract demands in check, I expect he will sign one more contract here in 2 years time. Grade: A

QB Derek Anderson, Age 32, 12 years experience

Similar to Tolbert. Derek likes it here, and we like Derek. He is young for a backup QB, and I believe will continue to get 2 year deals out of this team until he is finally ready to stop football altogether. It is always possible that a QB needy team could try to acquire him, but I don't think he wants a starting gig anymore. Joe Webb is the insurance multi-tool and that is just fine. Grade: A

DT Paul Soliai, Age 32, 10 years experience

2 year rental, and its safe to say the DT shelves are very well stocked with young talent. I can't imagine he'd play beyond the 2 years we have him for, but it is possible. Either way... we are prepared. Grade: All the A+.