As teams shift their focus from free agency to draft prep, there is another important decision that front offices around the league will have to make over the next several weeks: whether to pick up the fifth-year options on the contracts of players picked in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Panthers pick up DT Star Lotulelei’s 5th-year option
Carolina announced it will exercise the extra year on the contract of its 2013 first-round pick.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
In March general manager Dave Gettleman told reporters that the team planned on exercising the option for defensive lineman Star Lotulelei. On Tuesday, the Panthers made it official, meaning the 14th overall pick will be under contract in Carolina through the 2017 season.
Lotulelei has been a full-time starter for the Panthers since his rookie campaign three years ago. The Utah product finished with 22 tackles, one sack, a forced fumble and two passes defended in 14 games last season.
He has most notably been a solid run stuffer on Carolina's excellent defensive line over the past few seasons, combining with Kawann Short to form one of the most feared interior line duos in the league. Short will be a free agent after the 2016 season, so making sure that Lotulelei will be around for another season was an easy call for the Panthers.
Only players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft are eligible to have their standard four-year rookie contracts extended to a fifth year, and that option has to be exercised by the team in the offseason between the player's third and fourth seasons. The deadline is typically in the first week of May.
The salary for a player taken outside the top 10 like Lotulelei is set at the average of the third- through 25th-highest salaries at the position. Last year that figure was $6.146 million for defensive tackles, but will probably increase this time around. Top-10 draft picks receive a salary equal to the average of the 10 highest-paid players at the position.
The 2013 draft class is not strong but there are a few other guys who would seem to be no-brainers to have their extra years picked up, including New York Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert and Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Kenny Vaccaro, who was selected with the 15th-overall pick in the 2013 draft, was the first player from this draft class to have his option picked up by the New Orleans Saints.
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