Who Should I Start? Jordan Matthews or Zay Flowers

Thursday, May 8, 1:02 PM

The Carolina Panthers released tight end Jordan Matthews on Thursday, league sources tell The Charlotte Observer's Mike Kaye. The former wide receiver will now hit the open market after re-signing with the team in early January on a Reserve/Futures deal. The 32-year-old former second-round pick (42nd overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014 out of Vanderbilt ended up with just one target in four games played (one start) in his two seasons with Carolina the last two years. Since transitioning to a tight end, Matthews hasn't made an impact at the NFL level since leaving the Eagles with the San Francisco 49ers and Panthers. In his 10 NFL seasons, Matthews has recorded 274 catches on 423 targets for 3,288 yards and 22 touchdowns, with pretty much all of that production coming from 2014-18.

Tuesday, June 3, 2:47 PM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is coming off his first Pro Bowl campaign in just his second season in the NFL. The 2023 first-round pick out of Boston College snagged 74 of his 116 targets for 1,059 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games. Unfortunately, Flowers was banged up in the season finale against the Cleveland Browns and did not appear in either of Baltimore's postseason contests. Heading into Year 3, the Ravens are hoping to get Flowers more involved. "We just got to get him the ball more," offensive coordinator Todd Monken said after Tuesday's practice. "He's not only an outside receiver who has elite route-running skills, but he's unbelievable with the ball in his hands." Flowers ranked 19th in receiving yards last season despite finishing 28th in receptions and 23rd in targets. An uptick in target volume could give him fringe WR1 upside, and his target competition at wideout remains underwhelming.