Panthers surprisingly connected to star WR in free agency

Could the Carolina Panthers really land the best wide receiver on the free-agent market?

Jan 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) goes live on social media after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers need a whole lot of help heading into the NFL offseason, but one of their biggest needs is certainly finding more weapons for quarterback Bryce Young.

Right now, the Panthers have a couple of interesting young receivers in Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, plus a wily veteran in Adam Thielen.

However, Legette and Coker remain unproven, and Thielen is considering retirement and could ultimately get released.

Obviously, Carolina has a significant hole here, which is why Bleacher Report's Matt Holder has named Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins as the team's top target in free agency.

"Especially if Thielen gets cut, adding a young No. 1 receiver for Young should be one of Carolina's top priorities in free agency," Holder wrote. "Higgins will be one of the best wideouts on the open market with 330 receptions for 4,595 yards and 34 career touchdowns in his five-year career."

Of course, the question is whether or not Higgins would realistically consider the Panthers.

While the 25-year-old surely wants to get paid, he also probably wants to play for a winning team, and he seems pretty content in Cincinnati.

Heading into 2024, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Higgins would depart the Bengals after the season, but now, there appears to be hope that he could re-up in Cincy.

Plus, Carolina doesn't have a ton of cap room. The Panthers are projected to have in the neighborhood of $34 million in available cap space going into the offseason, and Higgins may absorb a big chunk of that if Carolina goes in that direction.

All in all, the chances of Higgins actually landing with the Panthers seem rather slim.

But hey, they can dream, right?

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