Steve Smith

The facts are still coming in as to exactly how Panthers receiver Steve Smith fractured his left arm yesterday. Either way, we’ve learned today that he’ll be shelved until late August.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, doctors have informed Smith that he will be out for 10 weeks, forcing him to miss all of training camp.

There remains a slim chance that Smith will be able to participate in the team’s last preseason game, which takes place on September 2, but that’s far from a certainty. The good news is he should be a full-go for the season opener against the Giants, barring any setbacks.

Steve Smith

Steve Smith held a youth football camp this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. While playing a flag football game, the star WR broke his arm and underwent surgery. Early reports indicate he should be ready for the season opener.

In fact, coach John Fox confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Smith shouldn’t miss any game action.

“They were messing around, the ball went over his head and he slipped,” Fox said Monday. “He put his arm out to brace himself. When he did he felt a sharp pain. He went in [Sunday] afternoon to have an X-ray and it showed a break.”

“I’m not trying to play doctor, but I don’t think he’ll miss any games due to this injury,”

Muhsin Muhammad

Another wide receiver with a long career is going the Isaac Bruce route and calling it quits.

Muhsin Muhammad, who played in Carolina for 10 seasons, will announce his retirement today at a 12:30 pm press conference, according to the Gaston Gazette.

Muhammad was selected by the Panthers in the second round of the ‘96 Draft, and become a full-time starter in 1998. The next season he was selected to his first of two Pro Bowls after posting 96 receptions for 1253 yards and 8 touchdowns.

In 2004, the only year he earned All-Pro status, Carolina made the Superbowl and Muhammad set a record by scoring on the longest reception in Superbowl history (85 yards).

Moose, 37, finishes his career with 860 receptions, 11,438 yards, and 62 touchdowns.

So Jimmy Clausen is finally off the board.

The Notre Dame QB is headed to the Carolina Panthers where he will compete with Matt Moore to start.

The strong-armed Clausen has some weapons to work with: DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Steve Smith and a strong defense.

Good value for Carolina.

While the first-round may officially be in the books, the news and speculation never stops. The hottest speculation right now is that Carolina’s chasing a certain QB from Texas.

According to NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora, the Panthers are interested in quarterback Colt McCoy; so interested that they’re considering moving up in the second-round to secure him.

As La Canfora adds, since the Panthers are sitting at number 48 in the second-round, they’d need to leapfrog teams such as the Browns, Raiders, and Bills; who all desperately need QB help.

They could package a player or two but, aside from a handful, they don’t have ammo that’s worth much.

McCoy won’t last long…if Carolina wants their man, this is the time to take a shot.

Last night’s acquisition of Donovan McNabb did two things for the Redskins: It gave them a proven, clear-cut starter at quarterback and made Jason Campbell expendable.

According to ESPN 980, the Redskins radio network, Buffalo, Oakland, Carolina, Jacksonville and a mystery team all have shown interest in Campbell.

No surprises, those are among the most quarterback-needy teams in the league, but I have to question if Campbell can be a productive starter. He had an up-and-down career in Washington, granted he didn’t have much to work with and seemingly had a new offensive system to learn every year, but many have called into question his decision-making and accuracy. There’s no doubt that Campbell will be moved, probably for a late-round pick. It will be interesting to see where he ends up and under what capacity.

Looks like it’s still Oakland or bust for Donovan McNabb.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter passed along a tweet that stated Arizona, Carolina, and San Francisco are not interested in the Eagles quarterback.

Schefter cautions that these decisions aren’t final and it’s “not too late to reconsider”, but this is how it stands as of today.

The Panthers look confident in going into next season with Matt Moore and possibly a draft pick while the Cardinals appear willing to give Matt Leinart a fair shake against Derek Anderson. The Niners, however, as Schefter and fellow ESPN employee Herm Edwards have made it clear, would be wise to make a move for McNabb.

A deal probably won’t be completed until/during the draft later this month, and the silver & black look to be the only team in the race.

As the clock ticks toward midnight, and the start of free-agency, there were bound to be surprise reports. This is one of them.

Panthers QB Jake Delhomme will be released, and possibly as soon as tomorrow, according to FOXsport’s Jay Glazer.