CAR to Part Ways With WR Steve Smith? Rumblings, Rumor Cowboys Interested
ESPN.com’s Matt Mosley reported on Monday that Steve Smith could be on his way out of Carolina, stating:
“There have been rumblings out of Panthers camp that club officials are fed up with Smith’s actions (not just the latest incident) and are at least considering the idea of dealing him to another team.
The idea of trading one of the best receivers in football seems far-fetched, but Smith has become a divisive force on the team. One Panthers source said that several defensive backs were walking around after the recent incident saying that if management didn’t discipline Smith, they would. This isn’t exactly the best way to begin a season.
All that to say that I know an owner in the NFC East who has spent the last four months coveting another star wide receiver. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones struckout with Chad Johnson, the Lions’ Roy Williams and Anquan Boldin, but behind closed doors, he’s still pining away for someone to play opposite Terrell Owens.”
It would take a blockbuster deal to move Smith, obviously, but if this were to happen the fantasy implications are profound.
- Muhsin Muhammad would immediately skyrocket up draft boards, as would D.J. Hackett
- Smith would return to the elite ranks of WRs as a top fantasy prospect (would the Cowboys be bound to enforce Carolina’s 2 game suspension? Probably not…)
- Patrick Crayton’s fantasy value would drop off the map if the ‘Boys went with a starting tandem of Owens/Smith
At this point, the scenario described by Mosley remains a distant possibility - but if you are drafting in the next few days, bump Muhsin Muhammad up a tad on your draft list just on the off-hand chance he could be Carolina’s #1 wide receiver this year - he was pretty good the last time Jake Delhomme had to lean on Muhammad (93/1405/16 - #1 fantasy WR during 2004). While it would be wildly optimistic to expect a #1 fantasy season from Muhammad during 2008, a top 10 appearance wouldn’t be outside possibility if Smith were to leave town.
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