The Carolina Panthers approached the offseason with the task of revamping their offense and surrounding quarterback Bryce Young with a new supporting cast. Despite missing out on some top wide receivers in NFL free agency, Carolina is now focusing on a recently available pass-catcher.
Although the Panthers acquired Diontae Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade, which significantly improves their receiving corps, there is still much work to be done to overhaul their offense.
Carolina has already arranged a visit with Mike Williams, who was released by the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday. Williams is also set to meet with the New York Jets, so the Panthers are exploring other options by bringing in another top wide receiver who has recently become available.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup is scheduled to visit the Panthers’ facilities next week. Like Williams, signing Gallup would not impact the NFL’s compensatory pick formula since he was released by his original team.
Gallup was a rising star in Dallas a few years ago. In his second season, he had 1,107 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in 14 games. The following year, Gallup caught 59 passes for 843 yards in the 2020 season. However, he tore his ACL in Week 17 of the 2021 season.
Despite the injury, Dallas signed Gallup to a five-year, $62.5 million contract extension a few months later. However, he never quite regained his pre-injury form, totaling just 842 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in his last 31 games.
Signing Gallup would be a more cost-effective option than adding Williams, especially with the Jets also interested. However, Gallup’s performance declined significantly last season.
He ranked 97th in catch rate (77.3 percent), 82nd in yards per route run (1.06), and 103rd in route win rate (39.8 percent), according to PlayerProfiler.com. Even if Gallup is signed, the Panthers are likely to use one of their two second-round picks on a wide receiver.
