With the Cincinnati Bengals using the franchise tag on Tee Higgins, the Carolina Panthers will have to look elsewhere for a new top-tier target for Bryce Young. Or do they?
Fellow Bengal receiver Tyler Boyd is an unrestricted free agent and if Cincinnati plans on keeping both Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase around for the long haul, it doesn't feel like re-signing Boyd is a possibility.
"The Panthers desperately need to provide Bryce Young with quality pass-catching talent (among other things), and because it's going to take more than just one signing, Carolina can't exactly go out and break the bank on a top-end receiver. Boyd will fit just nicely at a market value that should land below $10 million per year while providing Young with veteran production and allowing the Panthers to spend to address other needs."
According to Spotrac, Boyd has an average annual salary projection of $8.7M. A multi-year deal could be $26.1M over the course of three seasons. For a guy that has a pair of 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, averages 750 yards per season, and has caught nearly 70% of passes thrown in his direction for his career - it's a pretty good deal.
Signing Boyd is more realistic for Carolina than Mike Evans who has a direct tie to Dave Canales. Evans would like to remain in Tampa Bay and if they can't get a deal done, one can assume he'd like to land with a contender.
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