Linebacker Luke Kuechly announced his retirement some time ago, but the Panthers waited to formally move him off the roster on Tuesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Kuechly has been placed on the reserve/retired list. Kuechly could come off that list at any point in the future and the Panthers will retain his rights.
The Panthers waited until after June 1 to make the move in order to spread out Kuechly’s remaining cap hit over the next two years rather than taking all of the dead money this season.
Kuechly will now account for $4.7 million in cap space this season rather than over $11 million. The rest will hit the cap next year.