After hardly being used as a receiver in recent years, Ted Ginn Jr. is hoping that his next team following three years with the San Francisco 49ers will give him more opportunites to show his ability as a pass-catcher, which the Carolina Panthers might be interested in doing.

Because of the labor laws negotiated in 2011, a head coach can’t be in direct contact with a player until Mid-April. So Ron Rivera didn’t get to see how good or not Ginn is, but according to the men who did watch him put on a practice for them, he was worth offering a contract.

Ted came in and did a nice job. I know our guys really spoke highly of his visit. The interesting thing about Ted is he gives us some depth at wide receiver who can challenge for playing time opportunity. But also he’s got special teams value, which is big.

Ginn has 12 career touchdowns as a returner, six off punts and six off kickoffs. As a receiver, he got ample opportunities during his seasons with the Miami Dolphins to show his stuff on offense, but after leaving to the San Francisco 49ers he was used less and less in offensive sets, last season finishing with only 2 catches for one yard.

Ginn has received offers from more than one team around the league looking to improve their wide receivers depth while hoping for a more substantial upgrade in their special teams situation – both the Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals are interested in the six year veteran, with the Bengals reported to have made him an offer as well.