5 Panthers off the table in any potential Deshaun Watson trade
By Dean Jones
D.J. Moore – Carolina Panthers WR
What is the point in trading for Deshaun Watson if D.J. Moore isn’t on the outside? The wide receiver is one of the best in the business after just three years in the league and had it not been for some significant chemistry issues with Teddy Bridgewater, his numbers would have been in a completely different stratosphere to anything we’ve seen from the player before.
Moore is another first-round pick that the Panthers struck gold with. He has a rare ability to impact the game all over the field and there is just no telling how much better he’ll get with a more consistent signal-caller getting him the football.
His level of production over the last two seasons has been outstanding. Only five more wideouts have accumulated more yardage during this time and if Carolina somehow managed to get Watson to the organization in the coming weeks, it would benefit Moore considerably.
There might be a temptation for the Panthers to dangle Moore as a potential carrot with a contract extension looming. But if they exercise the player’s fifth-year option then it gives them a little more time to free up the cap space, which might improve significantly once COVID-19 fears are diminished.
Pairing Moore with Watson is a mouth-watering proposition. They might lose Curtis Samuel in free agency considering how much his stock has soared this season, but they should be even more explosive with the Texans quarterback despite this impending departure.