Panthers Losing their Long Snapper?

Darin Gantt reports that Panthers free agent long snapper Jason Kyle visited the Cardinals last week.

Kyle visiting Arizona makes sense, he's from there, and the Cards just cut their guy (ironically, former Panthers camp-hand Nathan Hodel, who was here briefly to ease Kyle's summer workload).

When I last talked to Kyle, just before the start of free agency, he was a bit dismayed that he hadn't heard more from the Panthers and was under the impression they were looking to get cheaper there.

No word on whether an offer was made but I'm hopeful the Panthers somehow bring him back. The guy has made one bad snap in 8 seasons, a level of competence that is hard to find. Gantt makes a good point about the worth of the roughly $500k they might save by going with a cheaper option:

The Panthers tried that route once before with disastrous results. They had a perfectly good veteran in Mark Rodenhauser, but let him go in 1998 so they could use fifth-round linebacker Jerry Jensen there. Dom Capers sanctioned that move, hoping to get more productivity from a roster spot since the thought was that Jensen might play defense too.

 Let's just say it didn't work out that way, Jensen cost them a game or two early, and was gone quickly, ushering in the Brian Kinchen era.

Considering the pain we felt last season with our early punt protection problems, letting Kyle walk might portend more special team miscues. I agree with Gantt, is a win worth more than $500k? No contest right?