2015 NFL Free Agents: Latest Rumors, Predictions for Reggie Wayne, Ray Rice

NFL training camps are in full swing, but valuable veteran free agents are still available on the open market as teams scramble for injury replacements. 

And lately, two teams have emerged as viable landing spots for a couple of high-profile free agents. Not only are the Buffalo Bills in the market for running back depth with LeSean McCoy sidelined due to a hamstring injury, but the Carolina Panthers are suddenly in dire straits at receiver after Kelvin Benjamin was diagnosed with a season-ending ACL tear, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. 

So as the rumor mill begins to churn regarding potential openings at key skill positions, here's a look at the viability of Ray Rice and Reggie Wayne providing relief for the Bills and Panthers, respectively, moving forward. 

Buffalo Not Keen on Rice

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Wednesday morning, Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo reported the Bills had "begun internal discussions on whether to explore signing Ray Rice," but those plans evidently changed in short order. 

Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News provided an update just hours later addressing Buffalo's interest in the 28-year-old running back: 

Even with McCoy, Fred Jackson, Karlos Williams, Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon all banged up, opting to stray away from Rice makes sense.

McCoy is expected to return for the Bills' Week 1 showdown with the Indianapolis Colts, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, and ESPN.com's Mike Rodak reported on Aug. 7 that Jackson is expected to be out a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. 

In other words, it doesn't sound like either player is at risk of missing significant regular-season action despite some concerning absences during preseason. 

"I was with Ray in Baltimore [and] I really liked him when I was there," Bills head coach Rex Ryan said last week on NBC Sports Radio (via Sports Illustrated). "We don’t have any interest and we never went into great detail about it because of the type of depth that we have at running back."

While Ryan's comments came prior to McCoy's injury, they fall in line with everything that's come out of Orchard Park in recent days. 

Don't bank on Rice taking his talents to Buffalo anytime soon. 

Prediction: Buffalo opts not to sign Rice, and he remains a free agent for the remainder of the 2015 preseason.

Panthers Haven't Talked to Wayne Yet

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

With Benjamin out for the season, the Panthers have been left horribly thin at wide receiver. 

How thin, you ask? Well, the Tampa Bay Times' Greg Auman has the answer: 

ESPN Stats & Info outlined Benjamin's importance to the passing game with an eye-popping stat:

So now the question at hand revolves around the Panthers adding a receiver to their shaky corps in order to stabilize things for quarterback Cam Newton.

And the first player who comes to mind is Wayne.

But according to the Charlotte Observer's Joe Person, the Panthers have yet to reach out to the 36-year-old receiver. 

Although Wayne is evidently running out of gas a year after catching 64 balls for 779 yards and just two touchdowns, he could operate as a safety blanket for Newton at the very least. 

As rookie receiver Devin Funchess works through a hamstring injury and continues to immerse himself in Carolina's playbook, the team will need more than Corey Brown, Jerricho Cotchery and Ted Ginn to help carry the load. 

Wayne may not be an enticing stopgap option, but the Panthers are strapped for viable solutions at this point. On a short-term, low-risk deal, he could help Carolina's offense hum just a bit more. 

Prediction: Wayne signs a cheap one-year deal with Carolina.