Charles Johnson wanted to return to the Carolina Panthers so bad, he joked he almost fired long-time agent Drew Rosenhaus because of it.

While Johnson wanted to do whatever it took to return to the Panthers despite getting cut earlier in the offseason for cap relief, the veteran’s representative wanted to maximize his worth in dollars elsewhere.

Johnson, the franchise’s second all-time leader in sacks, has said multiple times he turned down money with other teams to return to Carolina.

“Drew was close to getting fired because of (it),” Johnson told ESPN with a laugh. “He wants the best for you. He wants you to max out everything possible. He was just shocked because we’re leaving this money out on the table, and like I told him, I’ll just bet on myself for one year.

“Why wouldn’t I play for somebody I feel comfortable for? They’ve done everything for me.”

Johnson was about to enter the final season of a six-year, $76 million dollar deal that was set to pay him $11 million. The team let Johnson go, and re-signed him to a one-year, $3 million contract to save $8 million against the cap.

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Johnson, who went by the nickname ‘Big Money’ after signing the big deal years ago, now knows the pressure is somewhat off his shoulders.

“They can’t call me Big Money anymore, they can’t say I wasted the cap,” Johnson said. “I’m getting paid practice squad money now, so I can go out and play freely without all that extra attention.”