The Carolina Panthers are not likely to pick up the option on defensive lineman Dontari Poe's contract, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
Poe would make $9.8 million in 2020 should the Panthers exercise the option, but given the fact that Carolina is a rebuilding team, it makes sense for the Panthers to cut him loose.
Poe ended the 2019 campaign on the injured reserve list and underwent surgery to repair a torn quadriceps. In the 11 games he played this past season, he logged 22 tackles and four sacks.
The 30-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Memphis, was originally selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 11th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.
He played in every game during his rookie year, totaling 38 tackles. Poe then showed considerable improvement in 2013, finishing with 51 tackles and 4.5 sacks en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. He earned another Pro Bowl selection the following year after registering 45 tackles and six sacks.
Poe spent the first five years of his career with the Chiefs before joining the Atlanta Falcons for one season in 2017, where he recorded 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
He linked up with the Panthers in 2018 and had a rather poor inaugural season in Carolina, posting just 17 tackles and a sack.
The Panthers don't have a whole lot of cap room as it is, so bringing back an aging, declining defensive tackle when the team is in obvious need of a reboot would certainly not be the wisest idea.
Carolina went just 5-11 this past season,
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