5 Carolina Panthers under the microscope after Robbie Anderson trade

Scott Fitterer – Carolina Panthers GM

The elephant in the room.

Matt Rhule had full control of personnel moves as per his contract. But there is no way general manager Scott Fitterer didn’t get the chance to rubber stamp the big decisions since arriving from the Seattle Seahawks in 2021.

Fitterer’s got a relative pass for the Carolina Panthers’ failings so far. There are some grave problems those in power have been unable to solve at key positional groups and trading Robbie Anderson for nothing more than two late-draft picks is another prime example of contractual mismanagement within the franchise.

Maybe it was Rhule’s relationship with Anderson that sealed his megabucks deal. Something the Panthers will be paying for throughout 2023 with more than $9 million in deal cap coming their way.

David Tepper conceded during his presser last week that he wants more balance between the head coach and general manager moving forward. Although he was non-commital about Fitterer’s future, it would be a shock if he wasn’t given the chance to select his own guy and take it from there.

Fitterer is now firmly under the microscope. The decisions he makes in the coming weeks and months will likely have substantial ramifications on the team’s future and given recent events, there is no margin for error whatsoever.