Panthers release safety Vonn Bell just one year into his 3-year contract

Just one year after signing a multi-season deal with the Carolina Panthers, veteran NFL safety Vonn Bell has reportedly been released by the team at the start of free agency.

Joe Person, a Panthers reporter for The Athletic tweeted out Monday afternoon that Bell had been cut by the team and is now a free agent:

“Panthers are releasing S Vonn Bell, according to league source and as first reported by @TomPelissero.”

According to a second tweet from Person, timing was at play with this decision since Carolina owed Bell just over $3 million if he was still on the roster as of March 16. “Bell was due a $3 million roster bonus on March 16,” he writes, “which has been a theme among all the guys Panthers are cutting.”

Prior to signing on in Carolina, Bell enjoyed a successful stint in Cincinnati as one of the backbones of the defense in the secondary when the Bengals made runs to both the 2022 Super Bowl and the 2023 AFC Championship. Without him and star partner Jessie Bates III in the defensive backfield, Cincy dropped off on defense significantly in 2023-24.

However, with Bell clearing his $13 million in guarantees from the Panthers contract over this past season, perhaps he’s open to returning to Cincinnati or joining a contender on a lesser deal now that he’s nearly 30 years old.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5. Beginning March 11 through March 13 teams can enter into a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits. Following the restricted free agent deadline follows the 2024 NFL Draft, which runs from April 25-27.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.