The NFL trade deadline is quickly approaching, and the Carolina Panthers are a team that is interested in making a trade ahead of the October 31 last call. Despite their winless record so far, reports are that the Panthers front office is more interested in being buyers than sellers in order to help rookie quarterback Bryce Young.

“Carolina has been calling around about a wide receiver and other positions,” NFL insider Dinna Russini reported Sunday in The Athletic. “The Panthers hinted to other teams that they are not interested in trading away players for draft picks.”

On one hand, the Panthers’ trade plans ahead of the NFL trade deadline are a bit head-scratching. The team is dropping to 0-5 in Week 5 and is the last winless team in the league this season. With a rookie quarterback in No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, you’d think the team would want to stockpile draft picks to build around him.

However, on the other hand, the Panthers gave up their 2024 first-round pick to the Chicago Bears for the privilege of trading up to No. 1 to select the former Alabama signal-caller. Without a first-round pick, trying to get a deal on an out-of-favor at the deadline may make some sense.

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Either way, if Carolina can go out and get a WR1 or WR2 for Young, it could help the first-year player quite a bit.

Young has made a nice connection with veteran Adam Thielen, who is the only Pro Bowl wideout on the roster (even if those Pro Bowls are now five and six seasons in the past. The team’s other WRs — DJ Chark, Terrace Marshall Jr., Laviska Shenault Jr., and rookie Jonathan Mingo — have not made much of an impact this season.

Whether that’s on them or the rookie quarterback is up for debate.