Before taking questions on Tuesday, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich told reporters that he’d hold off on commenting about today’s tsunami of moves. That, however, didn’t prevent him from giving out a tiny bit of useful information on their newest acquisition.
Reich was willing to speak about wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette, whom the Panthers grabbed in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs early this morning. He said the 24-year-old can bring a lot to the table.
“He’s a really good route runner,” Reich stated. “Very good hands. Know he’s a smart guy. If you’re on our roster, you need to be able to play all three positions ’cause we move guys around a lot.
“Had a good preseason, a productive preseason. He can catch punts. So, he could factor in there could not factor in there. We’ll see how it all plays out.”
The speedy Smith-Marsette shined during exhibition play, reeling in nine balls for 195 yards (the second-most in the NFL this preseason) and two touchdowns. He can bring value as a vertical threat, an underneath option and a returner.
Reich then revealed that he and the braintrust had a little help from a certain veteran before making the move.
“He had some inside info because he was in Minnesota with Adam Thielen,” he added. “So, was able to call Adam and say, ‘Adam, tell me about this guy.’ So, got inside information from another player. That always is helpful.”
Smith-Marsette was a fifth-round draft pick of the Vikings back in 2021. Although he didn’t last into the regular season there, he did spend an entire summer with Thielen—who, apparently, gave a good review of the new guy.
“You guys will see—very good personality,” Reich said of what Thielen told him of Smith-Marsette. “Apparently, he’s got a pretty exuberant personality . . . which is good. We like that energy. He has good energy is what they say.”
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