Gettleman Has Right Idea but Is Handling Steve Smith’s Departure All Wrong

March 12, 2014   ·   Aaron Nagler   ·   Jump to comments

Panthers fans may not want to hear it. Steve Smith definitely doesn't want to hear it.
But Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman is making the right call in moving on from the 34-year-old receiver. 
How he's going about it? That's another story. 
After a year in which Smith started to show small signs of slowing down, a season that saw his diminished skills if not heart, it's clear the old saying among personnel people is on Gettleman's mind. 
Better to move on a year too early than a year too late. 
It would be easy for Gettleman to bring back Smith and his $7 million salary-cap figure and hope the aging receiver has one more serviceable year left. Luckily for Panthers fans, Gettleman knows his job as the guy in charge of the football operations in Carolina is to always be looking for ways to improve the long-term prospects of his team. 
It's hard, especially during these early days of free agency, with signings ha...

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