The Carolina Panthers come off a surprisingly successful season, but for all their defensive prowess, they're a team with some major flaws. Carolina ranked just 26th in total offense last year, and 27th in passing offense. And now they're at odds with one of their two best pass catchers.
Steve Smith is aging and slowing down, and the Panthers have been making noises like they're ready to move on from him. But who will fill the void?
Carolina has Greg Olsen (73 catches for 816 yards last year). But after Smith (64 for 745), there's only Brandon LaFell (49 catches for 627 yards in 16 starts -- so, 3 catches for 39 yards per game) and Ted Ginn (36 for 556). Those guys are what they are; they're not going to suddenly step up as a No. 1 receiver at this point. Neither has even been a particularly good No. 2.
And oh yeah; both LaFell and Ginn are free agents who are expected to reach the market. It's not even certain either player will be back in 2014. And the Panthers are ticking off Smith?
Put Carolina atop the list for the big-name free agent wideouts like Hakeem Nicks, and the first article linked above mentions Sidney Rice as a possibility. But both of those guys have had problems staying healthy, and Nicks in particular may be too expensive for the Panthers, who are snug against the salary cap.
It will be interesting to see who Newton is throwing to next year. Hard to believe they won't include Smith, a big-name (if flawed) free agent, and probably a high draft pick in what is widely believed to be a deep wide receiver class.
--Andy Richardson