Panthers News: Bryce Young, J.K. Dobbins, Greg Hardy and DeAndre Hopkins
By Dean Jones
DeAndre Hopkins rumors quashed by Carolina Panthers staff member
DeAndre Hopkins is going to take all the time he needs before choosing his next destination after being released by the Arizona Cardinals. This is a unique situation for the wide receiver, who remains a prolific performer and someone that is expected to draw substantial interest now that there is no draft compensation attached to the move.
The Carolina Panthers have been touted as a potential destination for Hopkins. He hails from the area, attended nearby Clemson and those in power could also offer him the money he's said to be after with more than $27 million in spare salary-cap space available.
Despite the obvious benefits of adding Hopkins to a wide receiver room that underwent significant changes this offseason, Panthers staff writer Darin Gantt didn't exactly paint the most positive picture on the rumors during his recent mailbag feature.
"[DeAndre] Hopkins has already said he's not particularly interested in playing with a young quarterback, so that would seemingly take the Panthers out of the running anyway. But I'm not sure it made sense otherwise. If they were going to spend real money on a veteran free agent, it would probably be an outside linebacker, so I probably wouldn't have put this team on the destination list."
- Darin Gantt, Panthers.com
Nothing can be ruled out where general manager Scott Fitterer is concerned. However, it's looking increasingly unlikely that the Panthers will throw their hat in the ring.