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- Christian Petersen
Earlier today, reports surfaced that the Panthers are luring in the sweepstakes for potentially landing free agent wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins. Carolina has made moves to bolster their wide receiver room this off-season, as they drafted Johnathan Mingo out of Ole Miss, and signed veteran Adam Theilen. Even with those moves, the Panthers wide receiver core is still considered among the worst in the NFL and could be what limits Bryce Young’s success as a rookie. Ever since David Tepper fired Matt Rhule last October, and decided not to retain interim head coach, Steve Wilks, this organization has been “all in” bringing in a star-studded coaching staff, headlined by Frank Reich, in addition to trading up to #1 to draft the aforementioned Young.
Earlier today, Nick Carboni the sports director at WCNC in Charlotte, joined the Kyle Bailey Show, to talk about Carolina’s interest in adding Hopkins to the mix, and he stated “Listen it makes all the sense in the world for the Carolina Panthers, finances aside to bring a guy of that caliber into the wide receiver room”. General manager Scott Fitterer always likes to keep around $10 million dollars available heading into the season, in case of emergency signings, or whatnot. With that in mind, signing a guy like Hopkins would likely take Carolina out of the market, of adding another edge rusher opposite Brian Burns, or another corner, to bolster a room that always seems to be hampered by injuries.
That’s going to be the deciding factor for Carolina, as they gauge their interest in the veteran playmaker. Is it more beneficial to give Bryce Young another weapon, or is the $27 million dollars going to be spent, adding more pass-rushing help, as the Panthers transition to a 3-4 defense? Either way, Panther fans should be encouraged to see that the front office isn’t sitting back after a busy off-season, as they have a feel of a team that knows the division is there for the taking, and nothing is going to stop them from trying to return to the NFL postseason.
