Ted Ginn Jr. Signs with Carolina Panthers, Brandon Tate Back on Bengals' Radar

ESPN Insider Adam Schefter announced via Twitter Thursday afternoon that former 49ers receiver Ted Ginn Jr. has signed a one year deal with the Carolina Panthers. Ginn, an Ohio native and former Buckeye, visited with the Cincinnati Bengals and raised questions as to whether or not he was the missing piece to the Bengals' inconsistent offense. 

A.J. Green has secured his place as one outside receiver. Last year, Brandon Tate filled the role of the other. This year, Tate is a free agent and it didn't look like he would be coming back, but the Bengals have recently announced that he is "on their radar." 

Andrew Hawkins, Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones are all inside receivers for the Bengals. Dane Sanzenbacher has played outside a bit but not much since college and is primarily an inside receiver as well. 

Ginn would have filled that role perfectly, bringing a long-ball and kick return threat and further spreading the field. Now that he is off the market, the Bengals must look to either target a free agent or rely on the draft. If they were to target someone in free agency, a good fit would be Mohamed Massaquoi. Two others would be Austin Collie or Darrus Heyward-Bey.

Should the Bengals decide to upgrade via the draft, they could target a plethora of different players. With the 21st pick as their first pick and now two additional compensatory picks, they can almost get whoever they want.