Contract year breakthrough?

A reader recently e-mailed to ask which Panthers are in the last year of their contracts. His rationale was that’s the type of player who usually has a breakthrough season.

But when looking at the players not under contract for 2007, you realize the Panthers have done a good job of securing their core for the long term. Most of the players who aren’t under contract for 2007 won’t make this year’s roster. It’s possible the Panthers could have only one starter in 2006 who becomes a free agent in 2007. That’s likely to be at one of the safety positions, where Shaun Williams and Colin Branch (both potential unrestricted free agents) are expected to compete for a starting job.

Other than that, the most prominent names on the list are Jordan Carstens, Chris Draft, Michael Gaines, Nick Goings, Ricky Manning and Mike Seidman.

If you’re looking for a breakthrough player, the best bets of that bunch might be Gaines or Seidman. The tight ends have potential, and the Panthers have wanted to get more out of this position for several years.

In alphabetical order, here’s the list of Panthers under contract for 2006, but not 2007.

Lorenzo Alexander

Chad Beasley

David Bergeron

Colin Branch

Tony Brown

Jordan Carstens

Drew Carter

Matt Cherry

Vinny Ciurciu

Casey Cramer

Chris Draft

Atiyyah Ellison

Shannon Fitzhugh

Michael Gaines

Nick Goings

Otis Grigsby

Jermaine Hardy

Phil Hawkins

Alex Haynes

Efrem Hill

Reggie Howard

Micah Knorr

Otis Leverette

Ricky Manning

Kindal Moorehead

Sean Mulcahy

Billy Parker

Jared Peck

Scott Peters

Jamal Robertson

Chris Samp

Mike Seidman

Sean Tufts

Garnell Wilds

Shaun Williams

Brandon Winey