Panthers News: Justin Houston, Matt Corral, OL depth and Scott Fitterer

Carolina Panthers GM on latest trade

Scott Fitterer is renowned for wheeling and dealing in pursuit of molding a competitive roster. Some moves have hit while others fell by the wayside, but the front office figure won't ever stop taking risks if he feels like it can benefit the Carolina Panthers in the short and long term.

The latest move came early on the morning of final cuts by acquiring wide receiver/kick returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette for nothing more than a conditional seventh-round pick swap in 2025. When discussing the trade, Fitterer stated his confidence that the former fourth-round selection can fill a significant need on special teams and perhaps even contribute in the passing game for good measure via Sports Illustrated.

"We were looking for a guy that could play a position whether it was a corner, receiver, running back that could be that return guy. That's where he first came on the radar. The scouts brought him up and we followed him throughout the preseason - the scouts did a really nice job with him. And then, the more you watch him, the more you say, 'wow.' Like, he's impressive as a receiver. There's some relationships around the league where we knew about the guy personally and then we took a shot on him. He had a really, really good preseason as a receiver. Good return ability. And then meeting the guy, he's got a ton of energy."

- Scott Fitterer via Sports Illustrated

Smith-Marsette clearly feels like the light has come on in terms of his own personal development. Much will depend on the health statuses of D.J. Chark and Terrace Marshall Jr., but there could be an opportunity to make his presence felt immediately if everything goes well at practice next week.