3 bold trades for the Carolina Panthers to secure DeAndre Hopkins in 2023
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers trade offer No. 2
This is a supply and demand scenario. The Cleveland Browns were the latest team to leak they weren't pursuing DeAndre Hopkins this week according to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, which could mean the Arizona Cardinals are forced to accept less than the going rate if the same trend continues leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft.
Scott Fitterer and his team will no doubt discuss the possibility. The general manager is in on every deal by his own admission and if he feels like this can take the Carolina Panthers up another notch, he won't hesitate to pull the trigger.
Offering the No. 93 overall selection - which is Carolina's third-round pick acquired from the Christian McCaffrey trade - and splitting the salary commitments almost 50-50 might be a decent bit of business. Something that was recently discussed by Bill Barnwell of ESPN as a potential landing spot for Hopkins.
Traded to the Panthers. In this deal, the Panthers would send the No. 93 selection to the Cardinals, who would pick up $10 million of Hopkins' $19.5 million base salary in 2023. Carolina would also guarantee Hopkins' $14.9 million salary for 2024, putting it on the hook for two years and $24.4 million. For the Panthers, this would lock in a No. 1 receiver for the first two years of their new quarterback's career.
As stated previously, the Panthers could pull this off financially. Hopkins might also welcome the chance of playing closer to home having grown up in South Carolina and turning out for Clemson in college.
If all it costs is a third-round selection, the Panthers would be foolish not to give it some serious thought.