Ever since last training camp when S Terrence Holt mentioned that he would love to play on the same team as his brother Torry in Carolina, many Panther fans have held out hope that Torry could come back to his roots in NC (They both are from NC and played for NC State). Of course the Panthers ended his hope of playing with his brother when they cut Terrence but we have still held out hope of getting Torry.

That hope turned into down right excitement when the Rams cut Torry just a few days ago. So the Panthers must certainly be interested in signing Holt now that he is free to choose right? There's just one little problem with that, the Panthers have absolutely no free money to go after Holt due to the huge chunck of money tied up in the Julius Peppers franchise tag. For the first time I actually do feel like Peppers has 'crippled' this franchise, preventing them from playing in the free agent game.

Let's for a moment ignore that reality and instead consider the Panthers could use a player like Torry Holt and actually had the money to pursue him. Here's what I envision. Holt would immediately be the #2 receiver capable of stretching the field on the opposite side of Steve Smith. Would that upset current #2 receiver Muhsin Muhammad? Hardly, he is the consummate team player.Moose will play wherever the Panthers need him to play.

Would that upset the Panther offense? Err...just the opposite. The Panthers prefer Moose in the slot anyway as he essentially serves as another TE in the running game. He's a possession receiver adept at going over the middle and converting 3rd downs. Yet the biggest contribution would obviously be in the passing game. It was obvious Panthers QB Jake Delhomme had eyes for Smitty only at the end of last season, a big reason for his playoff game meltdown. If a QB focuses on one receiver too much in this league, as Jake has been guilty of for oh...what 5 out of the last 6 seasons you will get picked as we saw. With Holt on the other side Delhomme would finally have another speedster he could trust to throw the ball too when the game is on the line or the Panthers need a big play.

I know there are a lot of fans out there that would love to see the Panthers obtain Holt and I am with you on that. Hell I'd even put his brother on the roster just to make it happen. But I've avoiding talking about it too much because there doesn't seem any way for it to happen. Yet as long as he remains unsigned there is still hope right?