The Carolina Panthers' descent to rock bottom under old regimes was a direct result of several personnel moves that sent this once-respectable franchise spiraling.
Matt Rhule started the incompetence. Scott Fitterer continued it. The Panthers are still trying to pick up the pieces, and it has been a long road back to becoming a competitive organization.
One of the most contentious transactions was the trade of running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers. Fitterer opted to cash in as another campaign was spiraling into irrelevance in the immediate aftermath of Rhule's firing. He didn't get a first-round pick, and more importantly, the previous general manager failed to use the compensation received wisely.
Carolina Panthers slammed for overall returns from Christian McCaffrey trade
Bill Barnwell from ESPN opened up old wounds regarding the trade in a feature examining the blockbuster moves in 2022-203 and how they look now. And unsurprisingly, the respected analyst didn't think the Panthers came out of their decision to trade McCaffrey particularly well.
"The Panthers didn't make much of their picks. They packaged two of them to move up for [D.J.] Johnson, who has one half-sack in three seasons. The second-rounder went to the Bears in the ill-fated move up for [Bryce] Young, and the 2024 pick was involved in the Brian Burns trade. That eventually became part of the Rams' move up for Braden Fiske, with the Panthers trading down and adding [Jonathon] Brooks, who has battled knee injuries during his brief pro career."Bill Barnwell
McCaffrey's dual-threat capabilities have been sorely missed. He was everything good about Carolina's offense at the time, although D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard did an admirable job of filling the void. Even so, any team was going to suffer from removing an All-Pro-caliber performer from the equation.
The former Stanford standout dealt with some lingering injury issues last season. When fit and firing on all cylinders, McCaffrey remains a difference-maker. He's already got 389 all-purpose yards (rushing and receiving) with one touchdown through three weeks. If the same trend continues, and he gets a clear run of luck on the health front, another Pro Bowl and All-Pro appearance could be in the offing.
Nobody needs to tell Panthers fans about how bad things were during the Rhule and Fitterer years. They've dwelled on that for long enough. Now, it's about looking to the future, which has a lot more hope attached to it following a shutout victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3.
As for Fitterer? He's currently working in Washington's front office, and he'll never get considered for a general manager position again.