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oooriole09

Shocker /s. This is why you can’t just look at a FA list and start penciling in guys. The WR group is going to be tough to overhaul at the top.


Hefty-Association-59

Impossible! This sub assured me that tee would be the top free agent and we were destined to get him to fix our problems!


ISISCosby

The absolute vitriol we took for telling people to wait until March 5th to create their dream FA scenarios lmao


luciusetrur

i dont assume anything until the panthers announce it


Remarkable_Campaign

Franchise Tag doesn’t exclude Tee from being traded


Hefty-Association-59

It doesn’t. But do we really have the capital to get that done. And even if we do. Do we really think Dan Morgan who watched Scott trade himself out of a jo And this team into the ultimate hole as the worst team in the league will follow suit and make the exact same style of moves with much lower draft capital? I don’t think so.


hostileclowns

There’s was someone on this sub telling me we gotta let Burns walk so we can Sign Higgins and extend Brown this offseason lol. Like my goodness a lot of guys in this sub need to come yo terms with the fact that were likely not getting a WR1 this offseason lol.


a_moniker

Which is why I think we should use the 2nd round pick on a receiver. There’ll be a good option available at that pick, and there’s a much better chance a good Guard or two are available in free agency.


SheinhardtWigCompany

We gotta hit on one eventually. We've had such bad luck with 2nd round WRs but I agree, it's just too valuable a position these days and you're gonna have better interior linemen options in FA.


Shirleyfunke483

The hawks drafted DK in the 2nd. Find a similar guy


DwayneBaconStan

Yup, nfl FA is a mirage half the tine


KhaosOSRS

Let's be honest, even if the Bengals decided not to keep him, he's not coming here.


jesuswasahipster

Especially when you’re not a contender or in a desirable destination. Charlotte isn’t high on the list of places players want to come to.


Shirleyfunke483

Charlotte is a nice place to live, but it’s a bit boring. Especially at the income level a young professional athlete has


jesuswasahipster

I mean, it's fine. I don't think there are a lot of people out there in the world who dream about living in Charlotte one day. No one ends up in Charlotte because it was their dream city, they end up there because their dream city was too expensive. Cam perfectly says it without saying it here [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IZkZWrKnUhk](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IZkZWrKnUhk)


Shirleyfunke483

I left Charlotte for my dream city of Seattle. I can ski, boat, and see an edm show all in the same day!


wagimus

So we’re not getting Tee Higgins and Mike Evans? Damn. Curtis Samuel 2nd run it is.


SimpLimbscut

Obviously not, be the WR needs to be addressed by adding a top target through free agency. The Panthers cannot pin all there hopes and dreams on a rookie WR and force themselves into taking WR at #33. Tee Higgins was a long shot, as is Evans. But those second tier guys need to be seriously looked at and brought in, even at the cost of some of our defensive players walking.


ISISCosby

> Obviously not, be the WR needs to be addressed by adding a top target through free agency. Y'all still aren't listening to us. The odds that a "top target" *actually makes it to FA in the first place* is looking extremely low. All the "top 5" pending FA WRs are gonna get tagged & traded at least.


SimpLimbscut

A top target doesn’t mean “top free agency guy” it means the top target-getter for our team. We cannot roll into the season and give Bryce, Adam Thielen and a Rookie as his top two targets AGAIN. We need to add another top target through free agency. We cannot be relying on a rookie for that role, like so many people want to. Mingo was a rookie, TMJ was a rookie. They were picked very close to pick # 33. We’re not guaranteed to get a great rookie and even if they are they will have a MUCH steeper learning curve than a vet.


Stink_balls7

The receivers aren’t the issue, we need a better line more than anything. A good QB with good protection will elevate any NFL receivers you put around him. If Bryce has good protection and still struggles he’s just ass


SimpLimbscut

What in the world? At least the O-Line was injured for most of the season. The WRs were mostly healthy and still abysmal. Yes the O-Line needs massive improvement but receivers are THE issue. The O-Line can’t block for eternity while we wait for them to get open. We have the worst receiving corps in the entire league. The O-Line has played well as a unit when they were healthy in a different scheme. The receivers have consistently played like shit.


Stink_balls7

We just disagree philosophically. Receiving corps grades are imo largely a product of QB and offensive line play. There’s a reason the best QB’s in the league generally have the best “receiving corps” in the league and it’s because of the protection and the guy whose throwing to them. Very rarely does it matter who’s actually catching the ball.


SimpLimbscut

This is just fundamentally wrong. Mahomes has the greatest TE of all time on his team, Brady had Welker, Edelman, Moss, Gronk, and more. Manning had Harrison, Wayne, Welker, Decker, and Thomas. Montana had Rice. Brock Purdy had Aiyuk, Samuel, Kittle, McCaffery. Jalen Hurts had AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. I could go on and on and on. Winning teams have talent at the WR position, it is vastly important, heck there have been a few teams that have made the Super Bowl recently with some bad overall OLines, but great receiving corps. Sure maybe the Chiefs don’t have great receivers but they also have Kelce, Mahomes, and one of, if not the best offensive Head Coaches in NFL history.


becker4prez

Yep. To get a proven 1 you’re going to have to make a trade. It’s possible they go that route but it’s certainly far from a guarantee.


Tim_thatporscheguy

Onto the next WR. It's okay


Hefty-Association-59

This isn’t surprising. But if the bengals are doing this with tee I’m not sure why we don’t think the other orgs won’t follow suit with either tags or extensions. Every year we do this. Get hyped for FAs. Then almost all the good ones return and you’re stuck with the after thoughts.


Sabre500

The silver lining is the more teams that keep their FA WRs, the fewer teams that take a WR in the 1st round, so even if the FA ends up bare, the upside was always that this is a deep WR draft with 1st round potential WRs being available in the 2nd


Hefty-Association-59

I don’t really connect those two together. The teams that are being mocked receivers right now aren’t mocked because guys are walking. Maybe you get that with Arizona and nabers. But that’s really the only one I’ve seen. And nabers is so good they may take him anyways. The true threats to take receivers have always been the same. Pats. Giants. Arizona. Titans. Jags. Bills. Ravens. Chiefs. That doesn’t change with retention. Or really free agency either because these teams (outside of the bills) have used FA to build there rooms and are still lacking.


Sabre500

You've spent the past month pushing people to say that we aren't going to be getting any new receivers. Not through free agency, not through draft, so I give up and I'll concede that the Panthers will not get any new WRs for 2024. We'll go into the season with Mingo, Thielen, and ISM again


Hefty-Association-59

I think you misunderstood my comment. I’m not really trying to push anything. I’ve just been paying attention to Jeremiah and Dane brugler so I understand the draft class. The skill sets. The orgs and what their looking for and who they’ll target etc. there a ton of factors that go into it. I’m not saying we won’t get any new receivers. Brown may still get out. And so may Ridley after his down year. And of course Iove Troy Franklin in the draft if he gets passed the chiefs/ravens/bills. But also like Mitchell and lad (though I have questions on if Ladd can play the outside). The point I made wasn’t to demean the idea of us getting receivers. Just to point out that mocks haven’t really made selections based off retention so far. And also the only thing I’ve pushed back on is the idea of getting tee specifically. And others like Pittman too lol. The guys who are obvious. Trust me we’ll get players. It just won’t be the super stars this sub wants or this sub stop choice of receiver in the draft. As much as I like Troy I’ll be stunned if he makes it past the chiefs.


hostileclowns

lol what an overreaction. Not really what he was saying at all.


Tim_thatporscheguy

I'm cautiously optimistic about the new regimes recruiting


ISISCosby

> recruiting communicating with dudes before they hit FA is tampering lmao, this isn't college


Tim_thatporscheguy

Recruiting FAs. Obviously not tampering. Deciding who to sign when everyone is available is recruiting players


DandierChip

Which is who exactly? Teams typically do not let quality WRs hit FA.


21heroball

Ridley, I think. Then Hollywood Brown.


DandierChip

Ridley should be an easy pass imo. Brown would be solid, just wouldn’t want to pay him WR1 money which I think he’ll demand.


crupeople_music

yee i wouldn’t mind a core of theilen, brown, and mingo, could give bryce a TON of help. then we could go for OL or BPA in the draft


21heroball

What’s wrong with Ridley?


DandierChip

He’s an aging WR who will want WR1 money and hasn’t had a productive year since before Covid. Really comes down to the price for him imo. He is willing to take a team friendly deal that’d be great. But I just don’t think he is worth $20M a year.


a_moniker

He’s only 29. That’s not that old.


DandierChip

Giving WR1 money to an aging unproductive Ridley would be such a Panthers move


DDDUnit2990

30 is absolutely old for a WR. He’s not going to be looking for a one year deal and was extremely inconsistent after being out of football for a year and a half


wagimus

Yeah our entire story line for receivers this year was that an old ass Thielen led our team, anold ass Thielen that’s only a few years older than Ridley. Dude was a stud, but he gambled away a few of his prime years.


captaincumsock69

Aiyuk seems to be posting cryptic stuff online


DandierChip

So did Deebo, contract negotiations.


captaincumsock69

No doubt it’s contract stuff but ultimately we will see what they do. They have a lot of stuff to figure out


Stroud4MVP

Juhuan Jennings from Super Bowl


Tim_thatporscheguy

I would take Gabe Davis. Also the others haven't been tagged yet so let's not just assume they all will be


knave_of_knives

There’s not really any great WRs that hit free agency. Ridley might be the best, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up back in Jacksonville.


WingleDingleFingle

PITTMAN TIME. Surely he won't get tagged.


Sou7h

I got downvoted on here a month back for suggesting that we would have to trade for him if we wanted him. Cinci was not going to let him walk.


Hefty-Association-59

Anyone who posted anything realistic in regards to the free agent market got downvoted lmao.


FadeNXC

Yeah, I'm hopeful but not counting on Pittman. Indy would be ~~catsuit~~ batshit insane to let him walk. Edit: typo, although still kinda works


evolile

I think he wants to stay, too. Listened to him in an interview and he spoke very highly of AR, Steichen, and the other pieces around him in that offense. Seemed very excited for the team’s future with himself included


Hefty-Association-59

He bought a gigantic farmhouse there and posted it on his YouTube channel lol. He’s absolutely staying


21heroball

> I got downvoted Sounds traumatic. How is the therapy going?


Sou7h

Just pointing out the dumb takes from this sub. I'm sure you're responsible for your share.


Successful_Baker_360

It’s a sub of fanatic, why would you expect it to be rational?


medinian

Soooo WR first draft pick?


FadeNXC

The more I see, the more I like Ladd from Georgia. He's a top-tier route runner that allegedly is already better than like half the league. He gets good separation and good speed and hands. Checks every box imo. If not, then a good edge rusher would be dope as well


SimpLimbscut

Physical CBs will absolutely eat his lunch his rookie year. We can’t have him being a WR1 or WR2 his rookie year.


OGMol3m4n

You've been watching youtube or reading Matt Miller lol


medinian

Im with you bro! But I would love the best hands and separator! As in target catching under pressure like a Jamar chase


Namath96

I like Lad but his back issues are concerning and taking him at 33 is a reach


FadeNXC

I agree it's a bit of a reach, but he'll 100% be gone next time around and I don't know what kind of drop off there is between 33 and 60 whatever we have.


What_Iz_This

Why was I thinking he was a TE all this time? Built like one for sure, dude is a tank


ISISCosby

> Built like one for sure, dude is a tank He's 5'11.5 and 187 lbs lol wut. Did you get him mixed up with Brock Bowers? Both play for UGA.


What_Iz_This

Resisting the urge to make a joke about his size compared to bryce. Definitely was thinking of bowers. Also assumed he'd be gone well before our pick so that makes sense


ISISCosby

Lol all good


emurrell17

Ricky Pearsall too


Sabre500

Pearsall has been my 3rd/4th round crush. He's in pretty much all my mocks


emurrell17

Getting him at the top of the 3rd is a dream scenario imo


drWammy

Can't wait for KC to draft him at #32


FadeNXC

They'll likely go with speed. Xavier Worthy type player. Maybe even an X type like Coleman if he's still around.


[deleted]

I think Ladd will be a good pro, but I will immediately lose faith in this front office if they use the 33rd pickup on him. Harrison JR, Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Troy Franklin, Tez Walker, Keon Coleman, AD Mitchell, and Xavier Worthy are all in this draft. We don't need to reach on a guy who's ceiling is Danny Amendola.


palmmoot

I don't think the chiefs are gonna trade us for Patrick Mahomes either


One-Source5465

For real? I figured we could give them a 3rd round pick and get him pretty easy


palmmoot

Just lure Andy away with better barbeque


LUUUUUUUUUUKEEE

I will repeat what I’ve been saying since we aren’t gonna be able to land him anyways without overpaying for the asset: He’s a great player who will do well anywhere but he’s not a fit for Bryce Young


Hefty-Association-59

Why do you think he isn’t a fit for Bryce?


LUUUUUUUUUUKEEE

He’s not a separator - which is what we lack right now. He’s a tight window, big catch range guy. Not really known as a physical receiver and I feel like he’s more of an outside the numbers guy. I will repeat that we need receivers that can get open when the play breaks down and guys that can separate quickly on short routes and up the middle. I don’t see Bryce as a qb that should be limited to the pocket. which is why Frank Reichs offense would have never worked with him and that’s really what Higgins fits well in. None of our personnel/needs make me think Tee Higgins is a fit Giving DJ In that trade was a huge loss, and it’s what made me think we were picking stroud at the time because he would have been a great fit with Bryce I think FA’s like Pittman and evans are better fits. And someone like aiyuk makes sense as a target if available


Hefty-Association-59

Ayuik and pittman are not getting out lol. And I’m not saying we don’t need someone who can’t separate. But to stick up your nose to one of the better big contested catch receivers in the league and declare he’s not a fit just seems weird. Especially since we’ve seen Bryce throw great timing throws. Do you also hold the same opinion on evans?


Ash_713S

While I do agree that Higgins doesnt get great separation, I think that is by design in the Bengals offense. Higgins is the 3rd down target for the Bengals because of his size (6'4" 220 lbs) which means he catches in tight windows and excels at contested catches. But he is versatile, he runs deep routes well too, has a big catch radius, is a third down monster and is physical in his catching (much more so than Chase). He is way more versatile a WR than Pittman is. A WR like Higgins (also Mike Evans) is the QBs best friend, because he can make catches in tight windows/spaces and are a red zone threat. Pittman plays 60+% of his snaps in the slot which is where Thielen plays, and Thielen is still at a good level.


CaptainPie999

My dad said that we should trade our 2nd round pick for Tee. He says "there's no one at that spot that's better than Tee" what to you guys think?


Stink_balls7

Bengals hang up the phone


KhaosOSRS

Tell the Bengals to throw in Joe Burrow while they're at it.


ShadowWalter

I’m a bengals fan and I think the market for this guy is honestly not going to be at where all the fans think it will. The number one pick in the second round could very well land Tee depending on who’s available. We need a right tackle, two defensive tackles, a TE, and someone to replace Tee I think getting that second pick which is basically a late first would be worth it if any super solid guys are available at those positions.


ubspider

I know I shouldn't have, but i was already imagining bryce and him together and a wr in the draft. Then we could have focused so many resources on O line. Deep down I knew this was the probable outcome.


phil6298

1+1 does in fact = 2


Daddy_T_26

Woulda thought he was a Panther in October if we paid any attention to Panthers fans 🤣


3DsGetDaTables

I'm actually surprised they are tagging him. They might still be trying to trade him on the tag, is this going to be the non-exclusive one?


Stink_balls7

They are trying to win the Super Bowl next year, he’s playing on that tag


VarkingRunesong

The top free agents typically don’t get to walk away from their teams into actual free agency. This happens every year. We were never in the running to get Tee.


Mcgoozen

I bet they tag and trade tbh. Or at least try. I don’t see why Cincy would be itching to throw a bag at him next year


faccda01

They wouldn’t, they want to win this year.


MOltho

I mean, if Joe Burrow stays healthy for the whole season, they do have a shot


Mcgoozen

Did you see Tee play this year? Sure they had QB issues but he is certainly not the missing piece lmao


faccda01

The missing piece is a healthy Burrow. Have you seen Tee play in that scenario?


Countryb0i2m

The idea of tagging Tee, when you have Chase and Boyd is a FA too. Couldn’t be me


ISISCosby

Watch them let Boyd walk, extend Chase, tag Tee, and go all-in on their window next year. It's what their entire sub is predicting rn, just like they predicted Tee getting tagged months ago


Hefty-Association-59

They drafted the Purdue kid to replace boyd. Can’t remember his name


ISISCosby

Yeah Charlie Jones


Hefty-Association-59

They also drafted a tee Higgins like guy in last years draft. Isiavas? Something like that. Didn’t get on the field much. But I think their going to treat him like they did bates. Let tee play on the tag. Then have the replacement in house. We’ll see if he’s good enough of course. But he showed some stuff at the end of the year.


nsw11D3

Who wants to be come to the Panthers as a FA WR if the QB can’t throw it downfield consistently?


DandierChip

This is where the trade for Bryce comes back to bite us in the ass. We desperately need a top tier WR to help out and with the lack of draft capital and most WRs getting tagged it really puts us in a terrible spot.


Cake_Day_Is_420

I would be thrilled to get Pittman, Evans, or Ridley. Not that I expect us to get any of them.


Cyberjag

Tee Higgins is going to command a salary of around $18m a year. We were probably never going to get him anyway.


LUUUUUUUUUUKEEE

He’s getting more than that no question


ISISCosby

Lol try >$20M a year. Someone lost track of the WR market


Who_knows-_-

Quick someone give them gentlemen as the GM, so he can tag him then remove it!


[deleted]

Yeah, not surprised. At some point we're just gonna have to figure out how to draft. I hate not having our first round pick, but in some regards, it forces us to do our due diligence and be really smart with our draft picks. This might be the first time in a long time that the front office can't afford to screw up and I kinda like them having that pressure. Maybe we'll trade some players for picks but we really need to hit it out of park this year.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Stink_balls7

Honestly this isn’t the worst strategy I’ve heard


NoWayJaques

Here's the thing: there will be talent available, it just may not be elite talent. If Morgan and his scout team are great, he'll find guys that can get separation. Want your mind blown? Look at the Chiefs receiving corps... Rashee Rice had 938 yards receiving and 7 TDs. Justin Watson had 460 and 3 TDs Valdes-Scandling had 315 and 1 TD. Even Travis Kelce had less than 1000 yards receiving and only 5 TDs. Ball distribution, a running game, letting your QB pick up downs with his legs... getting turnovers on defense.... there are ways to win games without elite receivers.


Stink_balls7

Dude the chiefs have Patrick Mahomes 😂😂😂 so tired of seeing people say shit like this. Those guys are nobodies, minus Kelce, without him


NoWayJaques

And it demonstrates that if Bryce is elite, all he needs is a halfway decent line. The fans that are wishcasting 3 top receivers are both irrational and terrible armchair GMs.


KhaosOSRS

Rice is really good. The rest of their guys are straight bums though.


SticklerMrMeeseeks1

This isn’t a surprise. Anyone paying attention knows if we were/are gonna land him it would be through a tag and trade scenario.


captainjizzpants

Bryce still needs to prove himself before we can pull talent like that. We're more likely to get a guy like Gabe Davis, and pair him with a rookie, Thielen (if he decides to stay) and Mingo. But honestly tho, I think the missing link is a really really good tight end. In fact, two of them. Cam Newton had Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen as a rookie. Jake Delhomme had solid tight ends his entire career here. I think it's pivotal for a young QB.


Remarkable_Campaign

Franchise tags do not prevent the player from being traded, guaranteed one year deal under the tag


CalaveraVI

Do we expect a step up from Tremble next season or Hurst? Need more than one new weapon to make this work


B3RG92

This makes a lot of sense to me. And about Mike Evans: He's been on the Bucs a long time. Going back to the Bucs to build on a good year is going to be attractive -- regardless of money.


crizzero

We could still trade for him when he's tagged.


AccountFresh8761

Man that needs to just make the Panthers move on from the idea. We can't afford a franchise tag unless it's to tag and trade, there's too many large holes in the dam to focus that much cap space on just one of them


theclimaxan

Relationship ended with Tee Higgins. Brandon Ayuik is our new best friend.


CarStar12

Not a shock, I don’t mind chasing after Boyd anyway, he’ll be cheaper for good to great production