Two D.J. Chark suitors have made their intentions known this offseason. The Lions said they were interested in re-signing the former second-round pick back in January, while the Panthers met him last week.
While we are nearly a week into the 2023 league year, Chark still has a market — but perhaps not quite on the level he expected.
Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said Monday (via Panthers.com’s Darin Gantt) that, despite Adam Thielen agreeing to terms on a three-year deal worth $25M, the team is still talking with Chark.
The Lions have also kept tabs on Chark, per NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, who notes the team has discussed a Detroit return with the sixth-year wide receiver over the past week.
The Lions took a higher-end flier on Chark last year, giving him $10M to join Amon-Ra St. Brown in a retooling receiving corps. Chark, 26, battled more ankle trouble — after a broken ankle ended his 2021 Jaguars finale — but re-emerged to become a key weapon for Jared Goff as the team made a late playoff push.
Averaging a career-high 16.4 yards per reception, the 6-foot-4 target totaled 502 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games.
Lions GM Brad Holmes said he wanted to re-sign Chark, and the ex-Jaguars 1,000-yard receiver indicated he wanted to stay as well. St. Brown is in Year 3 of his rookie contract; he cannot negotiate an extension until 2024. Jameson Williams can be kept on his rookie deal through 2026.
The Panthers became a player here following their trade-up for the No. 1 overall pick, which cost them D.J. Moore. Chark joined Thielen in meeting with the team last week, but even with the longtime Viking in the fold, the Panthers still have a need. They traded Chosen Anderson to the Cardinals last season; Terrace Marshall (490 yards) is Carolina’s top returning pass catcher.
Carolina will soon be building around a rookie-quarterback contract, leaving room to spend in other areas. Chark, however, will not likely qualify as a significant expense. As expected, this year’s receiver market is not producing windfalls.
This FA class was not believed to be driving too much interest, and the deals handed out to its top prizes reflect that. Jakobi Meyers landed an $11M-per-year pact, while JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s Patriots accord came in just south of $9M per year.
Neither AAV is among the top 25 at the position. Odell Beckham Jr. denied his long-rumored $20M-per-year ask is rooted in reality, but he should not be expected to do too well, either.
Thielen did do fairly well, all things considered. The 10-year Viking was a cap casualty who is going into his age-33 season. His Panthers deal includes a $2M roster bonus on Day 3 of the 2024 league year, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets, but the $14M guaranteed could point to the Division II product playing two seasons in Charlotte.
The Panthers could get out of the contract after one year, but even in a post-June 1 cut scenario, releasing Thielen in 2024 would still tag the team with $6.2M in dead money.
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