3 bombshell packages the Carolina Panthers could offer for Sean Payton

Carolina Panthers trade offer No. 3

If the New Orleans Saints are adamant that a first-round pick be included in their package for Sean Payton, the Carolina Panthers could reach a compromise. Offering their 2024 first instead of this year, for example.

While this wouldn’t be ideal – especially if the Panthers are still in need of a quarterback by this point – coaches with Payton’s credentials don’t come around every day. And if David Tepper wants him, there’s nothing he won’t do to rubber-stamp the deal.

Coughing up a second rounder in 2023 to sweeten the pot is another option. Although much will depend on how serious the Panthers are about making this improbable dream a reality.

In truth, the compensation element might have been agreed upon already. In situations like this, a package must be sealed before permission is granted, which is similar to Carolina’s involvement in the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes before he joined the Cleveland Browns.

The amount of draft capital Carolina gives up will determine how this appointment is received among the fanbase. Many have a fierce dislike for Payton from his time in New Orleans, so ridding themselves of high-end selections for a head coach is a touchy subject.

There will be plenty of twists and turns to come. But as always in these situations surrounding the franchise, the only opinion that matters is that of Tepper himself.