With four of Carolina's top five defensive backs set to enter free agency, the Panthers certainly are interested in locking down cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, right?
Not so fast.
After enjoying perhaps the finest season of his career, the sixth-year pro defender says he hasn't heard a peep from the team.
"It's been real quiet, which is shocking. I don't know what's going on. I'm just waiting. I guess they're going to let everyone hit free agency," Munnerlyn told The Charlotte Observer's Joseph Person on Friday. "I don't think they've talked to anybody, yet -- not even Greg Hardy. That's a shocker to me. I guess they're going to see what the market value of people is and go from there."
Munnerlyn told the newspaper that his agent, Hadley Englehard, is scheduled to meet with the team at this week's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
While Hardy seems bound for the franchise tag, Around The League's Chris Wesseling expects general manager Dave Gettleman to "address the secondary on the cheap again."
Munnerlyn has said he would be open to a one-year deal for the right price, but he might generate interest on the open market. The diminutive slot cover man finished as the 11th-ranked corner in the league, per Pro Football Focus, and he's returned a greater percentage (71.4) of interceptions for touchdowns than any player in NFL history.
With fellow cornerback Drayton Florence and safeties Quintin Mikell and Mike Mitchell also set to test the waters, the cap-strapped Panthers will be hard-pressed to bring their entire secondary back for another season.
On the latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys debate Joe Philbin's future in Miami before playing another round of "Win Wess' Toaster."
