A look at the safety position in my series on where the money is for the Carolina Panthers:
Total position spending: $5,115,742
Spending vs. league average: 28
Breakdown:
Analysis: The Panthers proved last season they didn't have to spend a ton on big-name players to be solid here. They finished the 2013 season with Mike Mitchell and Quintin Mikell as the starters. They got Mitchell for what turned out to be a steal at $1 million. They got Mikell for less than that at $620,000. They also showed they weren't going to pay those players exorbitant deals to keep them. Mitchell got a five-year, $25 million deal from Pittsburgh that the Panthers weren't going to come close to matching. Carolina didn't do quite as well in the bargain hunting this season in signing Roman Harper and Thomas DeCoud, but they upgraded in terms of experience. Having cheap finds such as undrafted free-agent Robert Lester, who started four games as a rookie last season, helps lessen the amount spent to sign them. But the Panthers obviously believe having one of the league's top front sevens makes it less a sense of urgency to spend big here.
