Hakeem Nicks is officially a free agent and will see just how much he is worth after a down season. The wide receiver is shooting for nothing less than a high-priced, long-term contract, hoping teams see him as the "missing link" to a championship roster. With several other marquee players on the market, Nicks certainly has some competition, but interest is still very high on the former New York Giant.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the landing spot for Nicks could be with the Carolina Panthers sooner rather than later. The Panthers are still trying to figure out their relationship with all-time leading receiver, Steve Smith. Rapoport believes Smith will be released in the coming days after the team hinted they are ready to move away from his high salary cap hit. With Smith, Nicks would be in.

The wide receiver has a short list of teams he would prefer to play for in 2014 and the Panthers were one of them. Nicks played his college ball for North Carolina and a return home could be very appealing. He has also stated that both the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers are on his radar.

"Ideally this is what I want: I want to go to a team where I'm the missing link. There are a number of teams that I have my eye on once I hit the market," Nicks said, via ESPN.com. "I know if I went to a place like Indianapolis I would be dangerous with a quarterback like Andrew Luck. I can see myself catching passes from Cam Newton or even Philip Rivers. Players have already started to reach out to me from other teams saying they would love for me to come join them. I just want to make it clear that I want a long-term deal and I want to be happy. I'm excited about talking to teams and making it work."

If Carolina parts ways with Smith in the next 24 hours, expect Nicks to be visiting sooner rather than later. If the Panthers really want the wide receiver, they must move fast. Indianapolis and Jim Irsay love big moves and if they think they have a shot at landing Nicks, they will take it.