it.

"When you have veteran guys who play a lot in front of younger guys that have potential, sometimes you stunt their growth," coach Ron Rivera said Tuesday after letting players go for a bye-week break.

Brown not only can play wide receiver, he can return kicks. While still an adventure at times, that's more than Avant offered.

So was it a mistake signing the 31-year-old Avant as a free agent out of Philadelphia? Not at the time. The Panthers needed to add veteran leaders after releasing all-time leading receiver Steve Smith and losing their next three wide receivers in free agency.

They went with Avant and Cotchery.

Did they realize neither was a speedster? Yes. They were counting on somebody to emerge out of free-agent signee Tiquan Underwood, Tavarres King and MarvinMcNutt.

None panned out.

Brown emerged late as that guy, but because he spent so much time behind the others throughout offseason workouts and training camp he wasn't ready to step into a significant role when the season began.

The Panthers believe he is now. They believe his speed brings to the offense what Ted Ginn Jr., who signed with Arizona during the offseason, did last season.

Brown gives the receiving corps more flexibility than Avant, who had only 21 catches for 201 yards in 11 games.

They need him to be dynamic, a word Rivera has used often to describe him, if they're going to make a run at Atlanta (4-6) and New Orleans (4-6) for the NFC South title.

"Probably one of the things that was really illustrated in the Philadelphia game