Filed under: Panthers, NFC South
Steve Smith should be nice to the Carolina Panthers. He should show up in mini-camp and do the walk and talk the talk. He is supposed to make $7 million next season. He needs to be nice to quarterback Jimmy Clausen because I don't think there is another NFL team that is going to give Smith $7 million after the season he just had.New head coach Ron Rivera told The Charlotte Observer he had a nice talk with Smith recently. The receiver had hinted, according to media, that he wanted out of Charlotte.
He has two years left on his contract.
Smith caught 46 passes and had two touchdowns in 2010. He is 31 years old.
That $7 million seems like a nice salary when you have those numbers. Smith was hurt in 2010 and played 14 games, but there is some question about wear and tear.
You have to like Smith. He was the guy who came flying into the scrum against Tampa Bay to hit a Buccaneer for taking shots at Clausen at the goal line in a late season game. The guy is passionate and plays hard. I would want him on my team.
The Panthers, according to Rivera, want Smith to be part of the plan going forward, but I would bet that means no more scolding of Clausen.
Rivera called dialogue with Smith "a touchy thing." Why? Because Smith wants out? His money? What?
"We have to go through the process and see how things fit and where he sees it. It's a touchy thing," Rivera told the newspaper. "We're going to have to wait until everything's cleared up and see where he is.
"But also, we've got to have our minicamp and all that when we get the opportunity and see how he fits with it, and see how it fits him and see if it's what we need and what we want, and we'll go from there. As far as I'm concerned, he's a part of what we are right now."
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/15/ron-rivera-considers-talks-with-steve-smith-a-touchy-thing/
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