Show me the money? Saints WR Ted Ginn Jr. says the Panthers wouldn’t

The Carolina Panthers wanted wideout Ted Ginn Jr. back this season, but weren’t willing to spend what the New Orleans Saints did.

And now the Panthers are paying a bit of a price for letting their speed receiver walk in free agency.

Heading into its Week 13 matchup with New Orleans, Carolina is still looking for a receiver to stretch the field.

Meanwhile, Ginn has caught three touchdowns and been a big-play threat for a Saints offense ranked second in total offense and passing offense.

Asked if the Panthers made an effort to keep him last winter, Ginn said: “They did, but they didn’t.”

Ginn, 32, who signed a three-year, $11 million deal with New Orleans, indicated former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman wasn’t willing to go that high with his offer.

“I just really think they felt like with my age and who I was that I was just going to settle,” Ginn said Wednesday during a conference call. “And I just felt like I had the opportunity to go out and get this money at the age that I was, and I didn’t want to settle.”

Ginn had two stints with the Panthers, and was their de facto No. 1 receiver during their Super Bowl season of 2015 after Kelvin Benjamin went down with a knee injury at training camp.

Ginn caught 44 passes for 739 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns in 2015, and followed it with a 54-catch season last year.

Ginn said he “definitely” was surprised the Panthers didn’t value him more.

“But that’s how it is in this game. You win some and you lose some,” he said. “I was just happy I was able to come on down south and just show them what I had and how they’re using me.”

Ginn, a former Ohio State standout and first-round pick of the Dolphins, is on pace to finish with career highs in receptions and yards in his first season with Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

He has three catches of at least 40 yards, including a 40-yarder for a touchdown in the first meeting with Carolina. The Panthers as a team have just four receptions of 40 yards or longer, and two were by tight end Ed Dickson against Detroit.

Ginn said his touchdown in the Week 3 victory in Charlotte was special.

“Oh yeah, for sure. You always want to go out and do something against your old team,” he said. “To score was the best. I just want to go out and play the plays and win.”

The Panthers were willing to lose Ginn in part because they were changing their offense to give quarterback Cam Newton more quick-hitting receiving outlets. They drafted Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel in the first two rounds, and the hope was Samuel could become the deep threat they lost when Ginn went to the Saints.

But Samuel broke his ankle vs. Miami on Nov. 13 and was lost for the year. Kaelin Clay has assumed that role, and speedy wideout Damiere Byrd is expected to be activated from injured reserve this week.

Panthers guard Trai Turner said it doesn’t look like Ginn’s lost a step.

“He can fly now,” Turner said. “He can still fly.”

Besides Ginn’s big-play ability, Saints coach Sean Payton likes the “leadership presence” Ginn has brought to New Orleans.

“He’s someone that cares about winning,” Payton said. “Whether he has two catches, one reverse, whatever it is, he’s played in this league long enough and he appreciates the challenge of winning games.”

Turner, a New Orleans native who visited Ginn during the Panthers’ bye week, doesn’t want Ginn to get too accustomed to winning – at least not this week.

“He’s been having a good season, huh?” Turner said. “Not Sunday.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2017 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Show me the money? Saints WR Ted Ginn Jr. says the Panthers wouldn’t."