Drayton Florence Expected to Sign with Carolina Panthers

Dec. 16, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: Detroit Lions cornerback Drayton Florence against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Lions 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The Detroit Lions need a cornerback but they apparently don’t need Drayton Florence. According to Albert Breer, Florence has informed him that he’s on his way to Carolina to take a physical, meaning he’s going to be signing with the Carolina Panthers before the day is done.

CB Drayton Florence tells me he's heading to Carolina to take a physical.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 13, 2013

Florence is well past his prime and is nothing more than a veteran signing for the Panthers. He played just eight games last season with the Lions as a forearm injury held him out of most of the season. At age 32, Florence is nothing more than a nickleback when he’s healthy and that’s being generous.

Given the problems the Panthers have, signing Florence is a head scratcher. They released Chris Gamble because he was too old but they’re essentially replacing him with a guy not much younger than he was. Bad signings have plagued the Panthers in the recent past and was the main reason they had a front office turnover in in the middle of the season last year.

Florence does provide a young team with a veteran presence, but he’s not much more valuable than that, and of the Panthers overpaid for him they could wind up right back where they were last year in blaming bad signings for their bad situation.

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