4 offseason moves that are making the Carolina Panthers look dumb
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers signed Miles Sanders
When the Carolina Panthers traded Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers, it left a gaping hole in their offensive strategy. The All-Pro was the focal point every week. He produced exceptional numbers despite going through various injury ailments as the team's workhorse. He remains sorely missed.
Fear not, Scott Fitterer had a plan. It didn't involve keeping around the highly productive D'Onta Foreman on a cheap extension. Oh no, shelling out decent money for a free agent despite the growing trend around the league was the chosen course of action.
The Panthers gave Miles Sanders a four-year, $25.4 million contract with a $5.9 million signing bonus and $13 million guaranteed. A strange route to go for many, but he was coming off a Pro Bowl campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles and harbored ambitions to be the three-down backfield presence worthy of replacing McCaffrey.
Much like the situation with Frank Reich, it didn't take long to conclude this was a mistake. Sanders lacked the vision and explosiveness needed to make any sort of impact. Injuries didn't help, but the former second-round pick lost his starting job to Chuba Hubbard and has been a bit-part player over the second half of 2023.
The Panthers are facing the prospect of eating substantial dead cap money to get rid of Sanders. It also represents another in a long line of personnel errors from the beleaguered Fitterer.