Panthers trade for Lamar Jackson: Packages, comparisons and is he worth it?

Carolina Panthers should not trade for Lamar Jackson

Despite Lamar Jackson’s talent and what he would bring to the Carolina Panthers, handicapping the future by selling the farm and losing valuable salary-cap space is not worth it. Especially when considering all the movement and contract shuffling it would take to fit his extension into the team moving forward.

That’s notwithstanding the players Carolina could lose because of the money tied up in Jackson’s mega-money deal. Scott Fitterer is better served to sit at No. 9 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft for the best quarterback available or trade up to secure C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young.

The rookie class is good. Any quarterback Carolina decides to draft would be younger and they would have a much smaller cap hit than Jackson’s extension would be.

This is clearly immensely important to Fitterer after having a front-row seat to a series of suspect free-agent signings and dismal trades under Matt Rhule. This is a mistake the front office figure won’t want to make now that he is calling the shots regarding personnel for the first time.

A trade for Jackson is something Carolina should avoid this off-season if they want to field a deep and complete team over the next handful of years. Although this is probably tempting for David Tepper, whose intentions to bring a marquee figure to the Panthers is well documented.