Did the Panthers show their hand too early at quarterback?
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers showed their QB hand too early
Going after Matthew Stafford and almost landing the veteran before the Los Angeles Rams came in with a better offer may have done more harm than good. Teams across the league now know the Carolina Panthers are willing to do whatever it takes to get their hands on a potential upgrade at quarterback, which will have an impact on any negotiations in the coming weeks.
The Houston Texans will demand a king’s ransom for Deshaun Watson if they eventually start taking calls. This might be a little rich for Carolina’s blood despite rumors of owner David Tepper willing to go all-in for the former Clemson star before his off-the-field issues came to light.
The same applies if Carolina wants to move up in the draft. Teams like the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, and the Cincinnati Bengals will know full-well what the Panthers want out of a trade-up and will demand the most out of them to make their dream a reality.
This isn’t an ideal situation. But the Panthers made their bed when they signed Teddy Bridgewater and let Cam Newton leave with one year remaining on his deal.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing to have, obviously. Carolina would probably do things differently knowing what they do now but there is nothing the organization can do other than move forward.
Other key positional groups are really coming together, especially on defense. It’s vital that the Panthers get their next signal-caller decision right and if they can, the sky is the limit.