Tag: Rashard Higgins

Panthers 1st-round pick Xavier Legette gets his uniform number

New Panthers WR Xavier Legette got his uniform number. (And no, it’s not No. 24.)

There seemed to be a bit of confusion amongst some Carolina Panthers fans on Friday regarding the digits of their team’s new first-round pick.

At the conclusion of his introductory press conference this afternoon, last night’s 32nd overall selection Xavier Legette held up the process blue uniform for the ol’ photo op . . .

So . . uh . . . is he really going to wear that number?

No.

While actually kinda cool in an out-of-the-box kind of way for a wide receiver, the No. 24 just signifies the year we’re currently in—2024. Simple, right?

The actual uniform number would be revealed to Legette not long after the presser:

Legette wore the No. 17 at the University of South Carolina between 2019 and 2023. He finished up that five-year stay with some bulky numbers in the box score—reeling in 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns en route to a second-team All-SEC selection.

He’ll try to turn the tide for the Panthers’ 17—which has recently been worn by receivers DJ Chark, Rashard Higgins and Devin Funchess.

Oh, and some fella named Jake Delhome also had the number from 2003 to 2009.

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Two former Browns signing one-day deals to retire in brown and orange

Two former Browns will retire in the brown and orange!

Ready to hang up their cleats, two former members of the Cleveland Browns want to retire as members of the Cleveland Browns. Linebacker Christian Kirksey and wide receiver Rashard Higgins will both sign one-day deals with the team to retire in the brown and orange.

Kirksey, drafted in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft, spent the first six seasons of his nine-year career with the Browns. He was a team captain over the final three years of his tenure in Cleveland, starting a total of 54 games in the brown and orange. He then moved on, spending one year with the Green Bay Packers and two years with the Houston Texans.

Higgins joined the Browns two years later as a fifth round pick in the 2016 NFL draft. He also spent six seasons in Cleveland before signing a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers in 2022. Higgins amassed a total of 1,900 yards and 12 touchdowns in Cleveland.

Congratulations on the careers, Christian and Rashard!

5 free agent WR options for the desperate Chiefs to help Patrick Mahomes

These five WR free agents might be able to help Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs a bit.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a wide receiver problem.

After wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a game-winning touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, it underscored how the best quarterback in the game doesn’t really have the help he deserves from his wide receiver group.

However, there are some legitimate options out in free agency right now if the team wanted to bring in a veteran and see if they could help, at least just a little bit. Right now, any positive momentum for Kansas City would be good.

The available names might not be superstars, but they could all possibly help Mahomes in some way. Let’s see who they are and how they’d factor in.

10 free agent wide receivers Broncos should consider signing

Going forward without Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler, the Broncos will need more depth at WR. Here’s a quick list of 10 free agents to monitor.

Following the losses of wide receivers Tim Patrick (Achilles) and KJ Hamler (pericarditis) on Monday, the Denver Broncos will likely sign at least one receiver in the coming days.

Hamler might be able to return to the team later this year, but Patrick is set to miss the entire 2023 season.

The biggest name free agent available is Julio Jones, but he is 34 years old and coming off a quiet season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other big-game players available are Jarvis Landry (30) and T.Y. Hilton (33), who have both seen their production drop in recent seasons.

One unflashy name to watch is Nick Williams, who has had two different stints with the Broncos this spring. Williams is a local prospect who played high school football at Cherry Creek and started his college career at CSU-Pueblo before later transferring to UNLV ahead of the 2022 college football season.

With those names in mind, here’s a quick look at the full list of 10 free agent wide receivers the Broncos should consider signing.

5 free agent receivers to help Patriots fill DeAndre Hopkins void

Here are five free agent receivers that could still help the Patriots

The DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes is over, and as usual, the New England Patriots are left with the option of going bargain bin shopping for whoever is left on the free agent market.

To no one’s surprise, it’s slim pickings when it comes to upgrading the way the Patriots’ wide receiver room needs upgrading. However, there are a few veteran wideouts out there that might have a few big plays left in the tank.

Of course, there’s no replacing a player like Hopkins, a five-time All-Pro that’s still clearly one of the best in the game. But if the Patriots are looking for receiver depth, they can still find it on the open market.

Here are five receivers that could still help New England:

Former Panthers WR named alternate free-agent option to DeAndre Hopkins

Former Panthers WR Rashard Higgins was named an alternate option for teams that miss out or pass on DeAndre Hopkins.

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If wideout-needy teams either miss out or pass on one of free agency’s big-ticket items in DeAndre Hopkins, where should they look for help?

Bleacher Report national writer Brad Gagnon recently suggested that former Carolina Panthers pass catcher (and we use that term very loosely since he didn’t catch a single pass as a Carolina Panther) Rashard Higgins should be amongst the alternative options to the three-time first-team All-Pro. He writes:

The veteran fell off track the last couple years and wasn’t a good fit with the Carolina Panthers, but he should have plenty of tread on his tires at 28 and averaged more than 10.0 yards per target in both 2018 and 2020.

In the latter year, he ranked second among all qualified receivers in that category (11.5). I could definitely see him reviving his career on the cheap in the right spot.

Higgins, who signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Panthers last spring, appeared in all of three games. He totaled just 12 snaps, with nine coming on offense and three on special teams.

So while he didn’t get a Hollywood ending in Carolina, Higgins could get a new start elsewhere by the time training camp rolls around.

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List of Panthers 2023 free agents who remain unsigned

2023 Panthers free agents who remain unsigned

The Carolina Panthers re-signed two of their own free agents before closing out the month of May—offensive tackle Cameron Erving and guard Michael Jordan. But there remains a handful of the team’s players from the 2022 roster who are currently out on the open market.

Here are those seven free agents . . .

Panthers WR Laviska Shenault Jr. makes most of Week 3 snaps vs. Saints

The Panthers were finally ready to let Laviska Shenault Jr. dip his toes in the water on Sunday. But luckily for them, he just jumped right in.

The Carolina Panthers’ first win of the 2022 regular season was headlined by an unlikely hero. So will that hero’s performance allow him more chances to save his team in the coming weeks?

Let’s take a look at this Sunday’s snap count standouts for the 22-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Revisiting our (sorta) bold predictions for Panthers vs. Browns

Did we nail our predictions in the Panthers’ season-opening loss to the Browns? Um, kinda.

When it comes to our prediction series here at Panthers Wire, we’re all about accountability.

So, let’s look back at our forecasts and see how we did in the Week 1 loss.

Panthers WRs Terrace Marshall Jr., Rashard Higgins play zero snaps in Week 1

You (yes, you) played just as many snaps in Week 1 as Panthers WRs Terrace Marshall Jr. and Rashard Higgins did combined.

Although it was only one game—and the very first one at that—the Carolina Panthers’ Week 1 loss to the Cleveland Browns told us quite a bit about the team as it stands. And some of that revealing information came in how their snaps were distributed.

Here are the standout counts for Sunday’s season opener.