Charles "Peanut" Tillman and Jared Allen, dominant forces at their respective positions for the last decade, came to Carolina with the hopes of achieving that one accomplishment that has been elusive throughout their careers--a Super Bowl Championship.  The Panthers came close, and these two former Chicago Bears were both important in Carolina's road to Super Bowl 50.  Both Tillman and Allen felt more than just the pain of losing to the Broncos, but they also felt the pain of injury.  Tillman's, the more severe, tore an ACL mid-way through the season, and Allen broke his foot in the divisional round of the playoffs. 

Both of these guys are long in the tooth. Tillman is 34 and Allen 33. Tillman, an unrestricted free agent, has indicated that he would like to return to the Panthers for another year.  Surely, Allen would like to as well, but he's scheduled to make 8 million dollars in 2016. Carolina could cut the grizzled vet without financial penalty. Dave Gettleman will certainly be asking, is he worth the 12 million given his declined production over the last three seasons?

2015 very well could have been the last rodeo for both of these cowboys.  If it wasn't, there's a good chance that one or both has played their last game with the Panthers and their last game on the same team. It appears they're very well aware of this also.

By the Professor, aka Tony Dunn