Carolina Panthers: 3 trade targets from the Chicago Bears

Carolina Panthers trade target: Roquan Smith (ILB)

Although Roquan Smith had a down year by his standards in 2019. There is no doubting the inside linebacker’s credentials at a position of need for the Carolina Panthers.

The franchise lost Luke Kuechly to retirement this offseason. And the coaching staff are pinning their hopes on free-agent signing Tahir Whitehead stepping in to immediately fill the void.

It is unlikely that the former Las Vegas Raider will impact the game anything like Kuechly did. But he does have the chance to perform well on a relatively inexperienced defense.

If the Panthers decided to go all-in on a top name on the trade market, then they could do far worse than taking a look at Smith. The price would be astronomically high given the player’s age and his potential for further improvement. And it would probably take an offer similar to what the Bears gave the Raiders for Khalil Mack to get this potential deal over the line.

Smith ended 2019 on the injured reserve list. But he has all the makings of a stud linebacker for the next decade if he stays healthy. This is the sort of leader on defense that the Panthers will be sorely lacking at the second level in Kuechly’s absence. And the front office has proven more than willing to go bold during the early stages of Matt Rhule’s rebuild.

This is probably a pipe dream for the Panthers. Trading Smith would send out the completely wrong message from the Bears’ perspective. But these sorts of eye-popping moves do happen a few times a year across the NFL.