Hackett to Carolina

One more free-agent candidate to scratch off your list: Seattle receiver D.J. Hackett.

The NFL Network reports he's agreed to sign a two-year, $3.5-million deal with the Panthers. Hackett visited the Bucs on Thursday and also had an offer in hand from the Redskins. It's not clear whether the Bucs made a contract offer.

Word inside the organization before the start of free agency indicated the team's interest in Hackett was lukewarm. But for the right price, the Bucs might have been willing to do business. We were told the Bucs saw him much in the same way they viewed Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall -- a player capable of and willing to make tough catches. The staff seemed to think there wasn't enough difference between Hackett and their two young receivers to warrant making a significant offer to him.

Given that, maybe this isn't a surprise.