ESPN's Dan Orlovsky believes Panthers should pursue Bengals star receiver this offseason

Is this the year the Carolina Panthers spend big money on a wide receiver?

Schuyler Callihan | 14 Hours Ago

Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

For the first offseason in several years, the Carolina Panthers won't have any question marks about who their general manager, head coach, or quarterback will be. The trio of Dan Morgan, Dave Canales, and Bryce Young are here to stay and now, it's time for Carolina to make some serious moves to accelerate the rebuild.

Due to being in a never-ending cycle of coaches and quarterbacks, the Panthers haven't really made a big-time splash in free agency aside from offensive lineman Robert Hunt, who agreed to a five-year, $100 million deal last offseason.

Now that the organization knows Bryce Young is someone they can build around, they can look to spend big money, if they so choose. ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky believes they should make a serious push for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.

Higgins played under the franchise tag this season, and with QB Joe Burrow signed to a $275 million deal and Ja'Marr Chase likely to return on a massive contract, the Bengals won't have the ability to bring Higgins back.

Over the past couple of offseasons, Higgins has been a popular name that's been tossed around as a potential target for the Panthers. He would immediately become Bryce Young's go-to target and would help solve a lot of Carolina's issues in the passing game. In 12 games this season, Higgins hauled in 73 receptions for 911 yards and ten touchdowns. Over the course of his five-year NFL career, he's logged 330 catches for 4,595 yards and 34 touchdowns.

First-round draft pick Xavier Legette and undrafted rookie Jalen Coker showed some promising things in their first year in the league, but Carolina needs a bonafide WR1. Higgins could be that guy.