4 Panthers next on the chopping block after Christian McCaffrey trade
By Dean Jones
Which Carolina Panthers players could potentially be next on the chopping block after Christian McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers?
After weeks of speculation surrounding the future of Christian McCaffrey, something official was officially confirmed late on Thursday evening. The Carolina Panthers dealt the All-Pro running back to the San Francisco 49ers for second, third, and fourth-round selections in 2023 as well as a fifth-rounder in 2024.
This concludes McCaffrey’s time with the organization and represents another exceptional talent wasted. Carolina is looking to generate draft capital and remove big contracts from their books in readiness for a new head coach in 2023, but it’s clear the fight back to relevancy is going to take a considerable period of time following Matt Rhule’s disastrous stint as head coach.
With the trade deadline fast approaching on November 1, general manager Scott Fitterer might not be done yet. Something that indicates the Panthers are in mini-tank mode as favorites for the No. 1 overall selection, even if they won’t say anything like that publicly.
On this topic, we picked out four Panthers players who could be next on the chopping block after McCaffrey’s trade to the Niners was confirmed.
Player No. 1
Cam Erving – Carolina Panthers OL
The Carolina Panthers finally have a productive offensive line. A strong period of recruitment this offseason coupled with improved coaching from James Campen has this unit providing the consistency that’s been sorely lacking in recent years, even if it’s not having much impact when it comes to offensive efficiency overall.
That’s left Cam Erving on the fringes. The veteran’s struggles last season are well documented, so if the Panthers can get anything back for one of their worst free-agent signings in recent memory before the deadline, they should jump at the chance.