Tight end Ed Dickson of the Carolina Panthers is a free agent this off season, leaving the Panthers with a decision to make on whether they will bring the former Oregon Duck pack next year. For his part, Dickson would like to stay with a multi-year deal.
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Dickson had a slow start to the season and his stat line for the season was generally unimpressive. However Dickson came over from the Ravens with the reputation as only a receiving tight end, but injuries to the Panthers’ depth at the position forced Dickson to show that he is a bit more than that. He played at full back and generally had more blocking responsibility than any time during his career.
I think Dickson showed flashes to be the second tight end that the Panthers have used well in the past. He ain’t quite Jeremy Shockey yet, but he offers the Panthers the chance to use that two tight end set. Although I don’t think he will ever 1 and 1A with Olsen, which is something he said he wanted according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.
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The roadblock to Dickson returning to the Panthers would be team plans for Brandon Williams. The big athletic Williams was kept around as a project piece this season. If the team believes that he is ready for bigger and better things, then there may not be a place for Dickson on next year’s team. If Williams is deemed not ready, then the Panthers would go ahead and make an offer to Dickson.
Despite Dickson’s potential usefulness, he probably does not have a huge amount of negotiating leverage and can be signed somewhat cheaply. He could potentially price himself out of returning, and I do not believe that Dave Gettleman’s comments about ‘not going to the Dollar Store’ were about specifically Ed Dickson.