The Panthers, having parted ways with Steve Smith, have targeted Hakeem Nicks as a replacement, but there now appears to be competition for the once-feared Giants receiver.
Nicks told ESPN he’s headed to Indianapolis Thursday night for a meeting with the Colts. In addition to the Colts and Panthers, the Chargers are interested.
Nicks’ father stated in an Instagram message that his son had signed with his hometown team, the Panthers, but that message was quickly retracted.
There’s a feeling around the NFL that if Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman was not interested in signing Nicks, something must really be wrong with Nicks.
After all, Gettleman was a high-ranking personnel executive with the Giants when Nicks was taken in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Gettleman was with the Giants as Nicks rose to prominence and when Nicks was instrumental in helping the Giants win Super Bowl XLVI.
Gettleman, who joined Carolina last year, still has close ties to the Giants — he shipped his former linebacker Jon Beason last October for a seventh-round draft pick. Gettleman can pick up the phone and instantly get the latest inside information from the Giants about Nicks, who has not been a dynamic player the past two years, did not have a single touchdown catch in 2013 and is coming off knee and foot injuries.
As Nicks became a free agent and the Giants showed limited interest in re-signing him — and no interest in signing him to a lucrative, long-term deal — the Panthers emerged as the logical landing spot for him. They need help at receiver and released their top player at that position, Steve Smith. Events of the past few days make a Nicks-Panthers union even more likely.
The Observer also reported the Panthers are targeting Nicks. He starred at Independence High School in Charlotte and in college at North Carolina. The Panthers need him and he needs them.
Gettleman tried to trade Smith, soon to be 35 years old and who is getting $5 million in guaranteed money and deferred bonus money now that his release becomes official. While Smith looks for a new team, the Panthers will make a play for Nicks, who has not exactly attracted a great deal of interest in the first few days of free agency.
Gettleman must believe Nicks, only 26, can recapture the form he showed in his early years with the Giants. Nicks recently stated he would love to play for a team with an established quarterback, mentioning the Panthers with Cam Newton, the Chargers with Philip Rivers and the Colts with Andrew Luck.