3 potential trades for the Panthers to land Matthew Stafford
By Dean Jones
Trade No. 2
New head coach Dan Campbell is looking to acquire as many NFL Draft picks as possible to get his rebuild off on the right foot. He certaintly made a bizarre first impression with his rambling introductory statement, but he’ll want to maximize this opportunity if Matthew Stafford’s desire to move on is granted as expected.
The Carolina Panthers don’t have much in the way of draft capital to play with. General manager Scott Fitterer also highlighted his desire to generate more selections in the coming weeks, something that proved highly successful during his time with the Seattle Seahawks.
Whether this means trading back in the first or second round remains to be seen.
But the need to do so would be even greater if they decide to go after Stafford.
The former Georgia sensation is still playing at a high level. However, now he’s made his desire to leave the organization known, it might result in the Lions taking a little bit less for the quarterback despite Stafford having two years remaining on his deal.
Carolina will do their due dilligence on every available option at the position this offseason. Perhaps a second-round pick, together with a late round selection both this year and next might be enough to get the deal done. But others more desperate for help might turn this situation into a bidding war that has the scope to compromise the team’s future.