The Carolina Panthers entered the offseason needing to completely overhaul their offense and build a new supporting cast around quarterback Bryce Young. After striking out on some of the top wide receivers in NFL free agency, Carolina is now turning its attention to a pass-catcher who just hit the market.
While Carolina hasn’t found a top wide receiver in free agency, it did swing a trade this offseason with the Pittsburgh Steelers for Diontae Johnson. While Johnson provides a significant upgrade for the Panthers receiving corps, there’s still a significant amount of work that needs to be done.
Carolina already scheduled a visit with Mike Williams, who was released by the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday. With Williams also poised for a meeting with the New York Jets, the Panthers are keeping their options open by bringing in another top wide receiver who just became available.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup will be visiting the Panthers’ facilities next week. Similar to Williams, signing Gallup wouldn’t factor into the NFL’s compensatory pick formula because he was released by his original team.
Gallup was an emerging star in Dallas just a few years ago. In his second season, he recorded 1,107 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in 14 games. The following year, Gallup snagged 59 receptions for 843 receiving yards during the 2020 season. However, he suffered a torn ACL in Week 17 of the 2021 campaign.
Despite the knee injury, Dallas signed Gallup to a five-year, $62.5 million contract extension just a few months later. He never regained the ability he displayed pre-injury, netting just 842 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in his last 31 games.
Signing Gallup would certainly be cheaper than adding Williams, especially with the Jets involved. However, Gallup showed significant signs of decline last season as 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 will use one of their two second-round picks on a wide receiver.
