CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tuesday's decision to cut Jason Avant wasn't some knee-jerk reaction to the veteran wide receiver suggesting the Carolina Panthers could have been more aggressive with the play calling in the final minutes of Sunday's 19-17 loss.

It was a reaction to opponents for weeks playing man-to-man defense without fear of receivers getting separation.

It was a reaction to get more speed on the field with undrafted rookie free agent Philly Brown -- as well as Brenton Bersin and De'Andre Presley.

And this wasn't something that became evident on Sunday when Brown got deep for a 47-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

This has been building since the Pittsburgh game in Week 3. With Jerricho Cotchery sidelined with a hamstring injury, Brown caught seven passes for 66 yards.

Avant had two catches for 12 yards in that game.

Brown followed that up with two catches for 35 yards in a Week 4 loss at Baltimore despite being on the field for only 12 plays. Avant had two catches for 24 yards and was on the field for 41 plays.

The Panthers may have cut Avant sooner, but Brown suffered a concussion during a Week 7 loss at Green Bay and wasn't able to play in the next three games.

His touchdown against Atlanta was a signal the former Ohio State star was ready to contribute again.

Nine-year veteran receiver Jason Avant failed to create separation in his 11 games as a Panther. AP Photo/Bob Leverone

That Avant didn't have a catch in 34 plays and Brown had a big one in 16 likely sealed 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 Marvin McNutt.

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 was as much man coverage as we got," Rivera said. "And then going into [the Atlanta] game and seeing how much man coverage you get, that's tough. It changes what you're trying to do because of what they're doing.

"So now Sunday, watching the game and watching them trying to play man coverage and watching Philly run by or get open, now all of a sudden it's, 'Hey guys, this is what we've got to start doing.'"