Pittsburgh Steelers unrestricted free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery is expected to meet with the Carolina Panthers either Monday night or Tuesday and Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer said Monday in an interview on Trib Live Radio that the team’s interest in the 31-year-old receiver is legit.
This news is not overly surprising being as the Panthers have a depleted wide receiver unit right now thanks to them releasing veteran Steve Smith and losing Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn Jr. and Domenik Hixon during the first week of free agency. They need some experience and Cotchery certainly has it.
The Steelers aren’t waiting around waiting for Cotchery sign with the Panthers, however, as former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Lance Moore is expected to visit with the team this week. While Moore is roughly a year younger than Cotchery, he’s also roughly four inches shorter.
Cotchery’s team-leading ten touchdowns last season will certainly be tough to replace and so will his ability to move the chains on third down, which has been a specialty of his since coming into the league. Not only that, it’s tough to put a price on what Cotchery’s value to the Steelers locker room is.
We will continue to monitor Cotchery’s situation closely, but as of right now, it’s hard to be optimistic about his chances of returning to the Steelers in 2014.
I'm told WR Jerricho Cotchery will be arriving in Charlotte later today. Expected to meet w/ Panthers tonight and tomorrow.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) March 17, 2014
