On Tuesday, the Carolina Panthers officially acquired veteran pass rusher Jared Allen from the Chicago Bears for a conditional sixth round draft pick. This is a great move for the Panthers for many reasons; first he will help fortify a position that took a big blow when defensive end Charles Johnson injured his hamstring and is expected to be out eight weeks. He is a great insurance policy and will hopefully help the defense generate more pass rush, despite being 3-0 that has been a weakness of our team early in the season letting quarterbacks scan the field for way too long creating big chunk plays and forcing our defense to defend for long periods of time. That is something we have to fix has the competition stiffens in the coming weeks when we face guys like Aaron Rodgers, Andrew luck and Russell Wilson. Those guys are like sharks smelling blood in the water when they get time in the pocket to scan the field they will absolutely take us apart!

Jared Allen is a great player, not just an insurance policy. Since entering the league in 2004, he leads the NFL in sacks with 134, fumble recoveries with 19, and 161 disrupted drawbacks! I know his performance has dropped off since joining the Bears, but it was in the wrong situation because he is best in a 4-3 defense, which is what the Carolina Panthers run. The Bears run a 3-4, and Allen never seemed very comfortable. With Allen in a scheme that better suits his skill-set, he should thrive and amp up a pass rush that has been virtually nonexistent in the first three weeks of the year. Allen will also be coming into a winning situation, whereas the Bears look hopeless and are in rebuilding mode; I think Allen will be rejuvenated and give us the jolt we need on the defensive side of the ball.

Let's not forget Luke Kuechly is recovering from a concussion and has a good chance to practice on Wednesday and play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Adding the captain back to the defense that's been pretty good without him, and then you add Jared Allen to a defense that already has Thomas Davis, Shaq Thompson, and Josh Norman--the sky's the limit for this defense now and when fully healthy; I'm so excited to see what we can become with this new addition.

General manager Dave Gettleman has been a master at seeing a weakness in the team and filling it with a great player, while also being financially smart with every move he has made. The Allen trade is no different. The Panthers only have to pay 823,000 of the 11.5 million owed to Allen this season. He also provides another veteran presence for all the young guys on the roster to learn from the matter what position they play. This move sends a great message to the team as well, showing that we want to win now, but we won't mortgage our great future that we've built. I love this about Gettleman. He's always looking to improve at the right price, and that's exactly what this move does. I love it!

Welcome to the Queen City Jared Allen let’s ruin opposing quarterbacks days!! Go PANTHERS!!!

By Cassidy McMahon
Follow on Twitter @CassMac_21