Dwayne Jarrett Wants a ‘Divorce’ From Carolina

A picture is worth 1,000 words.

This photo pretty much sums up the career of Dwayne Jarrett during his time in Carolina. Always promising, but not always able to deliver what he speaks of.

Just when I thought I was going to have to beat another dead horse, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett saves the day! How often does a “bust” get to claim that? Unfortunately for Jarrett, it didn’t take place on the field, and instead he just saved me from writing another monotonous piece.

I respect the guy for wanting to go play for a team that might utilize him more than Carolina has. Overall, he’s shown raw talent when given opportunities, and I can certainly understand his desire for a trade in order to be given a more serious chance at playing time.

But from what teams does he expect to generate interest? I’m not going to BS anyone and say the guy has a chance at being a phenomenal receiver somewhere else, but under the right conditions he has the talent and ability to be a solid receiver.

Over the course of four years, Jarrett’s caught 35 passes … Nothing to brag about at first glance. How many have been thrown in his direction, 50? 60? Not much more than that, I would guess. So off of even 70 passes, in which exactly half were caught for a total of 428 yards, is it really fair to label Dwayne Jarrett a bust?

Are we annoyed with his lack of production? Sure. But even that’s not fair when considering a few components which have more or less aided in his lack of success. Of course there are the personal issues — immaturity being the greatest. But let’s look at late last season and this season. It’s at this point in which Jarrett has started to look a little bit a different player.

His route-running improved slightly late last season, and he even caught the first touchdown of his professional career. Of course his first TD reception was a pass caught from now former starting quarterback Matt Moore. Not once was Jarrett able to snake a touchdown from Jake Delhomme. Immaturity played a big factor in the mind of the 24-year-old wideout early on, and perhaps that was his undoing at the time with a quarterback who needed acrobatic catches from receivers.

Carolina’s offensive scheme isn’t typically friendly to receivers, either. I love the running game (when it’s being used to it’s potential) in Carolina, but it does hurt the opportunities of a player who dwells on passes that are far and few between in coming his direction.

When passes have come Jarrett’s way, he’s been pretty solid at catching them between last year and this year. Which makes me wonder, why not allow the kid more opportunities? Is it because John Fox has so much faith in two rookie wideouts? Have they played that much better than Jarrett has so far this season?

Jarrett hasn’t personally asked a team representative that he be traded. His agent has, however, or that Jarrett be released at the end of the season — or at anytime now, if Carolina doesn’t have much use for him.

In another system, I’m inclined to believe Jarrett should fare better, so long as his maturing is truly genuine, and he can pick up a new offensive scheme rather quickly, because if he doesn’t know by now, other teams won’t be as accommodating as the Panthers were with him early in his career. In the meantime, Jarrett’s concern needs to be be making plays when and if he is called upon to do so. His biggest concern first, is “if.”

Follow Cat Crave on Twitter @THECatCrave.