A notable wide receiver came off the board last night when Eric Decker agreed to terms with the Jets, but another one is expected to hit the open market today, as word broke this morning that the Panthers will release Steve Smith. Baltimore, Oakland, and Tampa Bay have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Smith, and Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer cautions not to rule out the Chargers or Patriots as well (Twitter link). Here are a few more wide receiver rumors to start off your Thursday:
- As we heard this morning, the Panthers are eyeing Hakeem Nicks to potentially replace Smith, and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports (via Twitter) that the team is currently offering a deal worth about $4.5MM per year.
- If Smith eventually lands with Baltimore, it increases the chances that Julian Edelman will re-sign with the Patriots, according to La Canfora (via Twitter). However, the CBS scribe adds in another tweet that Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer has been attempting to recruit Edelman to Cleveland.
- The Patriots continue to monitor the market, and will almost certainly land a receiver eventually, whether it’s Smith, Edelman, Nicks, or someone else, tweets La Canfora.
- We heard earlier this week that the Bears were in talks with wide receiver Domenik Hixon, and now Josina Anderson of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the free agent is on his way to Chicago to visit the team. Assuming the visit goes well, Hixon would like to sign with the Bears, Anderson adds in a second tweet.