4 possible reasons the Panthers traded Denzel Perryman to the Raiders

Availability to the Carolina Panthers

Perhaps the one question mark surrounding Denzel Perryman before joining the Carolina Panthers was his injury history. This is something that blighted his time with the Los Angeles Chargers and prevented the player from holding down a starting position for long after being drafted in the second round.

Unfortunately for the player and the Carolina Panthers, these complications didn’t take long to resurface in a different environment. Perryman was on the field for a limited time at training camp due to a soft tissue problem and also missed time this week after a teammate reportedly stepped on his foot during a drill.

As the old saying goes, the best ability is availability.

And the Panthers came to the conclusion that Perryman couldn’t be relied upon to remain healthy during a grueling 17-game schedule next season.

Again, there was probably much more to this than anyone on the outside looking in will ever know. But an injury-riddled preparation period certainly did not help matters.

Perryman has missed 27 games over his first six years in the league. There is no doubting his talent – especially against the run – but considering he was going to be nothing more than a rotational piece, Carolina thought getting a late-round draft pick in return was the best avenue to go down at this stage.

Whether that was the right call or not remains to be seen. But those in power within the organization cannot be accused of sitting on their hands in the pursuit of progression.