Panthers: Trey Burton would be strong second option at TE
The Carolina Panthers would be wise to look at Trey Burton in free agency.
It is only the first full week of March and the landscape of the National Football League has changed dramatically. Friday, we saw Torrey Smith become a member of the Carolina Panthers in a move that added a much-needed veteran presence to the receiving core. What move will come next?
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A position to watch as free agency begins on March 14 is tight end. Greg Olsen is set to come back in 2018 after having a nice end to last season. However, there is no guarantee that Ed Dickson will return. Dickson is set to become an unrestricted free agent. This puts the Carolina Panthers in a bit of a bind at the position. Bryan Strickland of Panthers.com wrote a piece on Thursday detailing the tight end position and had this interesting tidbit in his piece.
"Jimmy Graham is the cream of the free agency crop, and Eagles backup Trey Burton is an intriguing upside option. Speaking of intriguing, Tyler Eifert also is a free agent – a top-flight tight end when healthy who has played just 10 games over the past two seasons. The Panthers considered drafting Eifert back in 2013."
Out of those three names listed above, Trey Burton would be the one to keep an eye on. Jimmy Graham probably wants to be a starter. With that in mind, I would not expect the Carolina Panthers to strip Olsen of the starting tight end designation. For that reason, I would remove him from the list. Eifert, while an intriguing name has an injury history. Although he would probably serve as a good No. 2 option, his health concerns would be enough to shy away from him.
Burton caught 23 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns last season. In his only start of the season against the Denver Broncos on November 5, Burton caught two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Only 26, Burton’s age is a bonus as well. Greg Olson will turn 33 on Monday and while he still has productive years left in him, Burton would be a nice infusion of youth moving forward. At 6-foot-3, he is a bit undersized for the tight end position, but has proven he can be effective.
Next: Panthers add veteran receiver
At the end of the day, only the Carolina Panthers know what they are going to do. With that in mind, it would be wise for them to take a look at Burton.