4 players the Carolina Panthers could trade during 2024 NFL Draft season
By Dean Jones
Shy Tuttle - Carolina Panthers DL
The Carolina Panthers defense has a different feel after free agency. Dan Morgan opted to transition investment to the offensive side of the football in pursuit of giving quarterback Bryce Young a fighting chance of making a better go of things in Year 2 of his professional career. This is a gamble, but one that could reap significant rewards.
Morgan traded Donte Jackson and Brian Burns to the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants respectively. He also cut established figures such as Vonn Bell and allowed underperforming players like C.J. Henderson to take their chances elsewhere. He's banking on defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero's schematic concepts and coaching prowess to get the most out of the options available. Whether it comes off or not is debatable.
If the general manager decides to bolster the defense further during the 2024 NFL Draft, more key starters might be nervously looking over their shoulder. This bears more significance on the defensive front with Shy Tuttle, in particular.
Tuttle was a square peg in a round hole last season. The Panthers slotted him into the nose tackle position after failing to adequately replace Marquan McCall. It was a role he was unsuited to and struggled accordingly.
The Panthers seem to have rectified this complication by signing A'Shawn Robinson in free agency, who instantly improves their run defense and should be a formidable presence alongside Derrick Brown. Tuttle should be watching the draft closely to see if extra competition arrives somewhere down the line.
This would be one of the more surprising trade possibilities, but Morgan's also shown no emotional attachment to this group of players despite being around when most were acquired. If he thinks an upgrade can be found on Tuttle, the respected talent evaluator won't hesitate to pull the trigger.
Trading Tuttle - providing a willing suitor can be found - would need to be done after the draft with a post-June 1 designation given the financial ramifications attached. According to Over the Cap, this would save them $6.5 million that could be better spent elsewhere.