The Carolina Panthers officially kicked off their rebuild when they traded Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers ahead of their Week 7 action. With the trade deadline not even officially upon the NFL at that point, many wondered whether or not the Panthers would engage in a full on fire sale as they look to speed up their rebuild.
Yet aside from trading Robby Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals before they traded McCaffrey, the Panthers didn't do anything at the trade deadline. It was a somewhat confusing decision considering that the Panthers are rolling with their third-string quarterback in P.J. Walker, and are openly attempting to rebuild amid failed moves for Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold at quarterback.
The Panthers had an opportunity to fast track their rebuild at the trade deadline if they traded away two key players, but they opted not to, which is a strange decision. Let's take a look at who those two players are and reveal why the Panthers should have opted to trade them at the deadline rather than hold onto them for at least the rest of the season.
2. Trade WR DJ Moore
As the deadline rolled around, it was clear that these two players on the Panthers were among the most coveted players on the trade market, and the first player on that list is DJ Moore. Moore is the Panthers top wide receiver, and he's probably one of the top wideouts in the league when you consider that he's recorded at least 1100 receiving yards over the past three seasons despite not having a consistent quarterback.
Moore struggled mightily over the first six games of the season, due in large part to Mayfield looking horrible under center for Carolina. But the last two games have shown what Moore is capable of when he is the focal point of the offense (13 REC, 221 YDS, 2 TD). Considering how the Panthers' other two offensive weapons in McCaffrey and Anderson were already gone, it felt like a great way for the Panthers to increase Moore's value.
Instead, the Panthers never seemed too hot when it came to trading away Moore, which is an odd decision. Moore is just 25 years old, has an extremely cheap salary this season, and is under team control for at least one more season. There's no doubt Moore could have brought in at least a first round pick, and potentially more given how good he's played over the past two weeks.
If Carolina wanted to fully embrace their rebuild, dealing Moore would have made a lot of sense. The Panthers likely won't be a contender for the rest of Moore's time in Carolina considering he can opt out of his current deal after the 2023 season, and while building their offense around him sounds good in concept, it means nothing unless they have a quarterback to help him out. Walker has been serviceable for now, but it's clear trading Moore would have been the right call for the Panthers.
1. Trade DE Brian Burns
Bradley Chubb was probably the most sought after player on the trade market, but right behind him was Panthers star pass rusher Brian Burns. Once the Panthers were seemingly blowing things up, they received tons of calls regarding Burns' availability, but again, Carolina stubbornly refused, believing that they could rebuild their defense around Burns.
In fairness, this makes a bit more sense than Moore's situation. Burns is still on his rookie deal and will be entering his fifth-year option next season, which will see his salary spike up to over $16 million. But Burns is only 24 years old, has recorded at least 7.5 sacks in each of his first three seasons, and is doing so while being the main pass rushing threat on the Panthers defense.
That didn't stop teams from being very aggressive when it came to making offers for Burns, with the Los Angeles Rams in particular rumored to have made a massive offer for Burns that involved multiple first-round draft picks. If that was an offer the Panthers truly received for Burns, it makes literally no sense for them to turn it down.
Carolina is playing a dangerous game where they seem to think that they can contend in the near future despite the massive holes on their roster. They have no solution at quarterback, and just traded away two of their top three playmakers coming into the season.
But rather than decide to blow the whole thing up, the Panthers got picky, and it cost them an opportunity to speed up their rebuild. Now they are stuck in no man's land without any real path forward, which wouldn't have been the case had they dealt these two players at the deadline.
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