Although the Panthers have stopped short of full fire-sale mode, the trade of Christian McCaffrey does send off signals big names can be obtained. But Scott Fitterer attempted to cool off any rumors of that sort in the wake of the All-Pro running back’s departure.
McCaffrey drew interest and fetched a four-pick trade package — far shy of the Cowboys’ franchise-changing Herschel Walker haul but more than the Colts collected for Marshall Faulk — but Panthers that play higher-value positions have steadily generated interest since Matt Rhule‘s firing. Fitterer stopped short of taking those players off the market but indicated they probably cannot be had.
“There’s players on this team that I really don’t want to trade, I know this organization does not want to trade,” Fitterer said Friday. “It would have to take something astronomical. But I think moving forward, we like where we’re at. We like our young players.”
It is fairly safe to assume D.J. Moore and Brian Burns qualify for the “astronomical” classifier. The Panthers view Moore as a foundational piece, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Burns could be in play, but Albert Breer of SI.com tweets it would take something like two first-round picks to pull off such a deal.
This year further educated the football-following public on wide receiver availability. Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown and Marquise Brown went for packages headlined by first-round picks. Given the buzz attached to Moore since Rhule’s firing, the Panthers likely would hold out for a compensation haul featuring a first-rounder and then some. Moore, 25, has back-to-back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons on his resume, reaching this benchmark consistently despite Carolina’s quarterback inconsistency. The Panthers gave him a three-year, $61.9MM extension in March.
Burns’ profile (one Pro Bowl) would not put him in the club of recent non-quarterbacks who commanded two first-round picks. Khalil Mack, Jalen Ramsey and Jamal Adams each had an All-Pro notch on their respective belts when they were traded for two first-rounders. Laremy Tunsil was moved without this accolade, however. Still, it is difficult to see a team betting that much on Burns at this point. He has not hit double-digit sacks in a season yet. The Panthers have been ready to re-up Burns for a bit now, though the team held off on doing an extension this year. Burns, 24, can drive up his extension price by continuing on his current pace.
Drafted during Rhule’s run, Derrick Brown is believed to be included in Carolina’s no-trade class. Shaq Thompson, the team’s longest-tenured player, is not. It will be interesting to see, especially now that McCaffrey is gone, if Thompson is moved before the Nov. 1 deadline. Players like cornerback Donte Jackson and offensive lineman Cameron Erving could be candidates as well, Joe Person of The Athletic offers (subscription required). Jeremy Chinn and Jaycee Horn can also be included among the core players Carolina does not want to trade, Person adds.
More players being sent away would naturally increase the chances the Panthers score a top-five draft choice. Carolina has not held such draft real estate since 2011, when it chose Cam Newton first overall. Hired during Rhule’s second offseason, Fitterer expects to be around when the team finds Rhule’s successor, Cameron Wolfe of NFL.com tweets. David Tepper endorsed Fitterer this week and said he wants more balance regarding HC-GM decision-making, after Rhule held roster control during his tenure. Though, it probably cannot be considered a lock the second-year GM is back. Tepper fired GM Marty Hurney months after greenlighting a Rhule-Hurney arranged partnership. But Fitterer is running the show regarding Panthers trades. The longtime Seahawks exec has doubled the Panthers’ 2023 draft arsenal over the first four rounds, running it to six via the McCaffrey swap.
“haul but more than the Colts collected for Marshall Faulk”
As he should have. When healthy, his numbers are better than Faulk’s were in Indy (Faulk’s numbers went up by a decent margin when he went to the Rams). Plus you have CMC for a few more years if you want him on that contract. Faulk did not have a long term deal and his contract demands were a major reason why he was traded.
“When healthy” is doing a lot of work there. Faulk rushed for over 1000 yards, caught over 50 passes, and played a full season four of his five years in Indy, culminating in a season when he led the league in yards from scrimmage. McCaffrey only played a full season his first three years, and the last one of those—the one when he led the league in yards from scrimmage—was three years ago. And the contract isn’t exactly a bargain for an oft-injured running back.
Just two seasons after dumping Faulk, Jim Mora was standing before the media delivering his famous “Playoffs! don’t talk about playoffs” speech.
“Just two seasons after dumping Faulk, Jim Mora was standing before the media delivering his famous “Playoffs! don’t talk about playoffs” speech.”
That speech had literally nothing to do with trading Faulk. The year he made that speech, the Colts scored the 2nd most points in the league. As a team, they rushed for almost 2,000 yards and 16 TDs. He had to make that speech because his team had the worst *defense* in the league.
@rct / Mora started off that speech by saying “don’t blame the defense”. Then he used the word “pathetic” to describe the offensive turnovers.
But I said ‘when healthy’ for a reason. He’s healthy now. Look at Marshall Faulk’s numbers in Indy. CMC’s are better, by a decent margin. Faulk may have rushed for 1,000+ yards, but it was on 3.8 ypc in Indy. CMC was getting around 5.0 ypc with over 100 catches in his second and third seasons. Faulk’s 50 catches pales in comparison.
Also McCaffrey played *three* full seasons in Carolina. Not sure what stats you’re looking at, but he did not miss a game in his first three years.
And again, Faulk was in a contract dispute, which is why Indy traded him in the first place. You don’t have that issue with CMC. CMC getting a bigger return makes sense.
I said he played a full season his first three years. And McCaffrey’s remaining deal isn’t a good thing. It’s too much to pay basically any running back, let alone one with such a significant injury history.
If youre the chiefs. Offer a 1st and 2nd for Burns. They need someone to free up Jones
If youre the packers. Offer a 2nd 3rd and 4th for Moore. Give Rodgers that true #1 receiver which also helps free up other guys. Theyve invested so much into defense and refused to keep Adams. Might as well go get a true #1 for Rodgers. Comes with 1 more year of control and possibly 2 if he doesn’t opt out.
Moore would be great for the Packers (or Ravens or Chiefs or several other teams), but I can’t imagine they’d trade him without getting even one first rounder.
I’ve drafted Moore last couple years in fantasy. While his end of season numbers are great he’s far too inconsistent between games. Some games he goes ham some games he disappears. Maybe that improves with better qb play but his career has definitely been inconsistent game to game which I’m sure teams would be hesitant to give up a 1st. Maybe they get a 1st but a 2nd 3rd 4th for a team that has so many holes and needs. Might as well get as much help for your new franchise QB in 2023 as you can.
Moore himself would be a lot of help. They already paid his signing bonus. He’s only 25 and he’s done what he’s done despite never playing with even a good QB. If I’m them, I don’t bother without getting a first. Its not like keeping a young number one receiver on a reasonable contract is a bad outcome.
You know who would help a young franchise QB, Jung?
DJ Moore.
GB Offer this years 2 & 5 and a 4th next year for DJ. He’s not better that Adams who fetched a 1 & 2.
I would say with Ramsey and Adams the teams trading for them might want back what they gave up for them.
Ramsey worked out well for the Rams.
I don’t mind the panthers going into a rebuild and trading out guys for picks. Especially as they are the only team acting as sellers right now.
The Steelers should also be trading out vets and going young.