FanNation

Two all too familiar names are being circulated around town as possible suiters for the Carolina Panthers. One was a former first round draft pick and the other has been use to beating the Panthers year end and year out. The question remains, though, whether picking up Mushin Muhammed and Alge Crumler would be a good fit for the Panthers organization.

The first player, Mushin Muhammed, turns 35 this season. Although he would be a great lockerroom presence and possibly a great mentor and teacher to Dwayne Jarrett, spending the money on a guy who has been known to drop a few balls during critical times during the game might not be the smartest way to go. Besides, how much more production can you get out of Moose? Last year he only had 40 receptions for a 570 yards. That's the third best on the team behind Desmond Clark, the team's tight end.The Panthers really need to look towards the future with playmakers who will be able to comtribute long term.

The second player, Alge Crumpler, does have ties to North Carolina (he played football at UNC) but there are big red flags about his durability. Crumpler has had surgery twice on his knee and just this offseason, had more surgery to clean up the knee. Furthermore, he has had shoulder injuries which warrent concern as well. It would be nice to have a reliable pass catching tight end, but bringing Alge on to the team would only be a short term fix. Besides, the Panthers have been burned before by picking up washed up Falcon players (Chuck Smith ring a bell?).

In any event, let's not jump the gun just yet. It's really easy to get caught up in emotion about your team and not stop and think about the ramifications of the moves that would do more harm than good. It's early and there's still a long ways to go in the off season before anyone really knows how things are going to shake down.