Paul Richardson rumors: Top 3 landing spots
By Josh Hill
He wasn’t the No. 1 receiver in Seattle, but Paul Richardson is going to get paid like one somewhere else.
Paul Richardson is hitting a shallow free agent market at wide receiver, which could make him a hot commodity by default. But don’t think that means he’s not a top talent as well, posting numbers last season as the Seattle Seahawks No. 2 wide receiver that will entice teams into wanting to make him their top guy.
What destination would be the most mutually beneficial?
Best fits
1. Chicago Bears
This could be a need addressed in the draft, but that won’t be enough. The Bears need to find a solid receiving corps and can’t rely solely on the idea that Cam Meredith and Kevin White will be healthy enough to carry the load. Richardson isn’t the sexiest option to be a team’s No. 1, but the last time an NFC North team poached the No. 2 receiver from the Seahawks, the Lions ended up making Golden Tate into one of the best top targets in the conference.
2. Carolina Panthers
Richardson benefited from having a mobile quarterback in Seattle, and Cam Newton is just as good if not better than Russell Wilson. Carolina has long been hurting for wide receivers, which has been a major mark against Newton his entire career, despite the success he’s had.
It’s like when we always pondered what the Packers would be if Adrian Peterson had been in their backfield all these years. Richardson can help stretch the field for the Panthers and could give Newton his a legitimately consistent target outside of Greg Olsen for the first time ever.
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3. Washington Redskins
Kirk Cousins might not be the first name you think of when you ponder franchise quarterbacks, but one of the reasons he’s getting paid this offseason is because he made something out of nothing. He basically played with a JV team last season and still managed to have a decent year.
Now that Alex Smith is in town, Washington is going to want to make sure it has targets for him to throw too. Smith’s best target in Kansas City was Travis Kelce, and there’s a chance Richardson can fill that role in terms of being a consistent top target. That’s a big ask, but if he wants to get his shot to take his career to the next level this might be what does it.