ESPN’s NFL insider Jeremy Fowler touted the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs as potential trade partners before the 2021 deadline.
The Carolina Panthers are clearly willing to do whatever it takes from a personnel standpoint in pursuit of putting together a competitive roster. General manager Scott Fitterer‘s aggressiveness in the trade market has been notable since his arrival from the Seattle Seahawks, with the likes of cornerback duo C.J. Henderson and All-Pro Stephon Gilmore joining the organization over the last month.
This has given the Panthers a sense of optimism in terms of front office purpose. Although it appears as if there are still some kinks to be worked out when it comes to production on the field.
Fitterer claimed he’d be “in on every deal” during his introductory presser. He wasn’t lying.
And make no mistake, he will be exploring every possible option leading up to this year’s 2021 trade deadline.
Carolina doesn’t possess much in the way of valuable draft capital with no second or third-round pick following their flurry of recent activity. However, one NFL insider claimed that a player exchange for the Panthers to get some offensive line help is something to monitor.
Carolina Panthers could explore a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In a recent article examining potential trade deadline scenarios, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler stated that the Kansas City Chiefs could offer something Carolina needs if they are willing to part with a talented pass-rusher in return.
"“The Panthers want offensive line help, which they’ve all but advertised publicly. The problem is teams don’t want to give it. The Chiefs have good O-line depth but need edge-rush help (league-low seven sacks). Carolina happens to have pretty good depth up front.”"
The Chiefs worked hard on bolstering their protection this offseason after Patrick Mahomes spent the Super Bowl running for his life against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Joe Thuney was an incredible free-agent addition, with Trey Smith and Creed Humphrey making an immediate impact in their first year at the next level.
This has left good players like Laurent Duvernay-Tardif on the outside looking in. Someone who would immediately start for the Panthers given their current options on the interior.
Whether a player like Marquis Haynes would interest Kansas City is up for debate. Sacrificing someone like Yetur Gross-Matos in only his second season might not be in Carolina’s train of thought currently.
One thing is for sure, the Panthers aren’t going to get far unless things improve across the offensive line. Carolina gambled on suspect free-agent signings and waited until Round 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft to focus on this area, which already seems to be a gamble that won’t pay off.
It’s impacted Sam Darnold in a detrimental way. The quarterback isn’t the greatest decision-maker in the world under duress, which was on full display during his three-interception performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5.
As Fitterer stated recently, teams don’t let good offensive linemen leave. And certainly not at this stage of the season.
That might change nearer the deadline depending on certain situations or players coming back from injury. So you can bet your bottom dollar Fitterer will be working the phones constantly in readiness for any situation.