By Desmond Johnson

General Manager Dave Gettleman said Tuesday at the league meetings that the Panthers will exercise the option on defensive tackle Star Lotulelei. Lotulelei was the 14th pick of the 2013 draft for the Panthers.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, players picked after the 10th pick, the salary for the option year is the average of the third through twenty-fifth highest salaries at the position. Players in the top 10 have their salary set at the average of the 10 highest paid players at the position. Lotulelei falls into the latter category and would be compensated as such for his fifth year, which would be the 2017 season.

The Panthers have built a strong defense around Lotulelei, as well as other star players including CB Josh Norman, LB Thomas Davis and Luke Kuchley and fellow defensive tackle Kawann Short. Short is set for free agency after the 2016 season as is Norman after he received a franchise tag from the team earlier this month. Since Short was not a first round pick, he does not qualify for a 5th year extension. The team is expected to retain both Norman and Short. Norman, if a long term agreement is not reached by July, will play under his current tag price of 14 million for the 2016 season. The Panthers have fielded a top ten overall defense during the past 3 seasons.