The Carolina Panthers were linked to Jaire Alexander, a star cornerback who happened to grow up in Charlotte, who just became available. That addition might come with its own set of problems, and it doesn’t look like the Panthers are going to take that swing despite needing more cornerback depth.
However, there may be another less controversial cornerback available. Last Word on Sports analyst Anthony Palacios reported that Greg Newsome might be available in a few days because the Cleveland Browns are in a precarious salary cap situation. If he is, Palacios thinks Carolina ought to pick up the phone.
The Panthers defense as a whole was pretty bad last year, and most of the upgrades went to the defensive front. Palacios loves the addition of Tre’von Moehrig in the secondary, but he also believes they need more firepower.
Palacios even thinks Newsome has the capability to outplay recently re-signed Mike Jackson for the CB2 spot behind Jaycee Horn. Either way, this would give the Panthers the depth they need at cornerback while giving them three good corners who can help shut down opponents through the air.
Will the Panthers do this? Probably not. If they’re going to add a cornerback, Alexander, for all his faults, makes more sense. He’s available for a simple contract signing rather than having to fork over assets and then extend Newsome. The Panthers aren’t good enough yet to be parting with assets all the time, so they could keep their future picks and just sign Alexander if they really want a cornerback.