Carolina’s Cap Comparison: Running Backs

Next Year

The running back room will likely look pretty similar next year. Cutting or trading Brooks and/or Etienne would cause a loss of cap space, and the team loves Chuba so I doubt they’ll cut or trade him. Chuba’s cap hit next year is set to be about $9 million, but cutting him would save about $6 million against next year’s cap. I wouldn’t be shocked to see some kind of contract extension to free up a couple million next offseason. If AJ Dillon makes the team and performs well this year, he might get a small contract next year as well.

Measuring Up

The Panthers have about 3.24% of the 2026 cap tied up in the running backs, which puts them 15th in the league so right at middle of the road. The Packers, Saints, Jets, Vikings, and Colts are the teams allocating over five percent of their cap to their collection of backs. Meanwhile, the Browns, Giants, Dolphins, and Commanders are spending less than one percent of the cap on the position. The devaluation of the running back position definitely plays a role in this disparity, with the higher spending teams paying a lot for the elite backs while other teams just rely on late round draft picks and other dart throws.