The Carolina Panthers are in the hunt, sitting at 3-3 and two games behind first place in the NFC South. This is when teams start to make calls to fill glaring needs before making a push for the playoffs.
With the Panthers losing their best pass rusher, Patrick Jones II, for the season due to a back injury that required surgery, Carolina may be forced to make a move at the deadline.
The biggest weakness is still the pass rush. Carolina ranks dead-last league-wide in sacks and 31st in pressures. The run defense and coverage have been carrying the defense thus far. If the Panthers want to make a postseason tilt over the second half of 2025, they have to make a move for a veteran pass rusher.
Here are three candidates worth exploring.
Trades the Carolina Panthers should consider to boost playoff chances
Trey Hendrickson
Trey Hendrickson doesn't need much coverage, given his two-year stint in the headlines over contract disputes and trade requests with the Cincinnati Bengals. The All-Pro has been a top-five pass rusher in the NFL, with a strong case to be the best.
He finished last season as the league leader in sacks with 17.5 and ended 2023 in second with the same number. If the Panthers are willing to swing on a superstar who may leave Cincinnati in the offseason, Hendrickson would be the perfect player.
Bradley Chubb
The Miami Dolphins could be blowing it up soon and cleaning house. This would make Bradley Chubb a prime sell-high candidate for the AFC East club and give Carolina their best pass rusher.
Chubb has been on fire this year with 15 pressures and four sacks. To put it in perspective, the entire Panthers roster only has five sacks in total.
At 29 years old, Chubb would provide much-needed juice off the edge using speed and power to win through double teams and against prolific offensive tackles. He has a 13 percent pressure percentage, and the only Panthers pass rusher over 10% is Jones.
Chubb could be the perfect veteran to win now, while also using his experience to mentor the rookie duo of Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen.
Jaelan Phillips
Jaelan Philips is confirmed to be on the trade block and is being actively shopped, according to multiple sources. Just like Hendrickson, he is a pending free agent, but he is also coming off a 2024 ACL tear and suffered an Achilles injury in 2023.
This whirlwind of misfortune has plummeted the value of Phillips, making him the perfect buy-low candidate. In his last fully healthy season, he tallied 74 pressures and seven sacks with a 16.4% pressure rate. He finished seventh in pressure that season.
Phillips is already up to 18 pressures and posting a 15.1% pressure rate, which would lead the room in Carolina by five. And the compensation attached is unlikely to affect Dan Morgan's intention to build through the draft.
He is still young with upside. Phillips' play this season has been on par with his efforts before the injuries, and he’d be much easier to re-sign than someone like Hendrickson, making him the best candidate at the deadline for Carolina.