Report: Carolina Panthers eyeing free agent wide receivers Adam Thielen, DJ Chark
The Carolina Panthers have their eyes on two wide receivers who could help mitigate the loss of DJ Moore.
The franchise already swung for the fences ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, trading some top picks and the wide receiver to move up from No. 9 to No. 1 overall on Day 1. While it secured the Panthers their pick of the litter among potential quarterbacks, it hurt their wide receiving corps immensely, leaving a Moore-sized gap.
Evidently, Carolina knows who they want to fill that hole, as ESPN is reporting the Panthers are looking into signing both former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen and former Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions pass catcher DJ Chark.
“Update: The #Panthers are ‘attempting’ to sign both former #Vikings WR Adam Thielen and former #Lions WR DJ Chark, according to ESPN,” tweeted NFL reporter Doc Kleiman. “Carolina recently traded away WR1 DJ Moore to the #Bears and need to replace him.”
Adam Thielen was the Vikings’ No. 2 wide receiver behind superstar Justin Jefferson last season, but the juice was no longer worth the squeeze as it pertained to his contract situation. Thielen caught 70 passes for 716 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Additionally, the 32-yead old Thielen had been with the Vikings for 10 seasons after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in 2013. Now, he’s looking at taking his talents to a new teams for the first time in his career.
Meanwhile, Chark first entered the league when the Jaguars selected him in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of LSU. That selection came after Chark recorded 66 receptions for 1,351 yards and ten total touchdowns across his collegiate career. As a rookie with the Jaguars in 2018, Chark grabbed 14 receptions for 174 yards.
After falling out of favor in Jacksonville, Chark took his talents to Detroit, where he aught 30 passes for 502 yards and three touchdowns last season. Now, he’ll be looking to find a new home, possibly in Carolina.
As you can see, Carolina is reshaping their offensive identity, and looking towards free agency to help the next Panthers’ franchise quarterback have some weapons when he’s anointed.