4 options the Carolina Panthers have with Shaq Thompson in 2023

Carolina Panthers could trade Shaq Thompson

This would obviously depend on Shaq Thompson’s performance and how the Carolina Panthers get on overall in 2022. But if the organization is in a position to get some valuable draft capital in return, it’s something that will also be discussed.

Obviously, teams will be wary of Thompson’s salary in the final year of his deal. It would also come with a dead cap figure of more than $11 million if the Panthers went down this route in 2023.

There is an enormous amount of pressure on Matt Rhule to get things right in Year 3 of his tenure. If the former Baylor man cannotturn his precarious situation around, then the chances of team owner David Tepper cutting this expensive experiment short would increase exponentially.

If this happens and the Panthers move into yet another rebuild, then a veteran counting so much against the cap wouldn’t be the best way to go about things. Acquiring draft picks and a saving of $13 million might be too tempting to resist providing there is interest from elsewhere.

Hopefully, for the Panthers, they’ll do well enough for this outcome to be a non-starter. But considering their doubts at quarterback and a lack of depth across the defensive front, it cannot be ruled out entirely.

It’s something to monitor, at the very least.