Analysis: Expect the Panthers to stay quiet at NFL trade deadline — for good reason
The flurry of phone calls will eventually come. Last-minute inquiries and offers that Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney must address.
But “address” does not mean “consider,” and it certainly doesn’t mean “accept.”
With the NFL’s trade deadline less than a week away — teams have until 4 p.m. next Tuesday (Oct. 29) to make deals — there’s a palpable buzz around the league this week. That includes in the Panthers locker room, where rumors and speculation have run rampant the past few days.
But they’re just rumors. According to a league source, barring any sort of major injury or deadline offer, Hurney and the Panthers are expected to let the trade deadline come and pass quietly.
Arguably, as they should.
The modern NFL is shifting to a place where players have greater control of their own career paths; disgruntled for one reason or another, players across the league are speaking out when they’re unhappy with their situations. Just because that movement is becoming more commonplace, though, doesn’t mean it’s always in a team’s best interest to partake.
Sometimes, the best deal is keeping exactly what you have.
Salary cap situation
The likelihood that the Panthers don’t make a deadline trade has nothing to do with their ability to do so.
According to the NFL Player’s Association, the Panthers have just more than $14 million available in salary cap space. That ranks near the middle of the league, but is absolutely enough to take on a veteran expiring contract.
For example, since the San Francisco 49ers acquired wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders from Denver this week in exchange for two draft picks, Sanders will count for about $6 million of San Francisco’s 2019 salary cap.
But having some cap space now doesn’t mean the Panthers won’t need plenty come this offseason.
Carolina only has 36 players under contract through the 2020 season, according to Spotrac, meaning every bit of that cap space will be necessary to re-sign key starters and new draft picks. Cornerback James Bradberry and linebacker Shaq Thompson, for starters, are two young pieces who will be up for new deals.
With that in mind, it doesn’t make sense for the Panthers to make any long-term or expensive additions right now that could jeopardize that offseason cap space.
Biggest needs
Another misconception surrounding the Panthers and the trade deadline: That by standing pat, the Panthers are saying they don’t need any help.
Also not true.
With Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kawann Short on season-ending injured reserve, could the team potentially use another versatile lineman in its rotation? Or with Chris Hogan also hurt, what about a depth receiver? Second-year cornerback Donte Jackson has missed three games this season; might some more secondary depth be nice?
Of course. And if the Panthers were to make a move, it would likely come in one of those three areas.
But also consider how players have stepped up internally, and how their collective emergence makes trades less necessary.
Former first-rounder Vernon Butler Jr. has played more snaps with Short out, and he’s performing better than at any point in his career. Against Tampa Bay in London, he had back-to-back plays with strip sacks, something coach Ron Rivera said he doesn’t remember ever seeing a player do. The team also likes its receiver trio of DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel and Jarius Wright, and just elevated DeAndrew White — who excelled in the preseason — to the 53-man roster off the practice squad. And cornerback Ross Cockrell has registered two interceptions in three games filling in for Jackson, causing Rivera to say he deserves more time even after Jackson’s return.
If those players on the roster hadn’t stepped up like they had, more phone calls might be made. But they have, and Butler and Cockrell have been two key contributors on Carolina’s four-game winning streak.
Potential trade targets
Leonard Williams, New York Jets (DL): Williams is a fit from the standpoint that he’s a versatile defender capable of run-stopping and disrupting the passer. He also is counting for $14.2 million in cap space this year, meaning the Panthers would need to do some serious reshuffling or other moves to accommodate him.
DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins (WR): Parker has been talented-but-inconsistent for the Dolphins, and with a manageable contract of about $5 million in 2019 and 2020, he would be a solid depth addition. But he also counts $4.5 million in dead cap space if he’s dealt.
*insert defensive back name, team*: No, not a joke. The Panthers certainly won’t pay the price for a high-profile veteran like Patrick Peterson or Chris Harris Jr., but a depth defensive back wouldn’t be an unwise addition. Bradberry, Jackson and Cockrell form a nice group, and nickel Javien Elliott has been solid, but you can never have enough capable players in the secondary.
Who the Panthers could trade
Cam Newton, right?
Wrong. So, so horribly wrong.
The notion that the Panthers would even consider trading their franchise quarterback — especially with him signed through 2020 — is ludicrous. If they did and Kyle Allen was out for any period of time, the team would suddenly be relying on rookie Will Grier — who struggled throughout the preseason — to mount a playoff run.
And if so many other teams were to be interested in Newton, doesn’t it make sense that the Panthers would want to, you know, keep him?
Hurney, in his two stints as general manager, has only ever made two in-season trades. The most recent was in 2017, when he shipped former first-round receiver Kelvin Benjamin to Buffalo for a third and a seventh-round pick. He also acquired defensive tackle Tank Tyler from Kansas City in 2009 for a fifth-round pick.
But Hurney has an impressive resume, especially in his second turn with the team, as a talent evaluator. He has plucked starters from seemingly every round, including late-round talents such as Jermaine Carter Jr. and Dennis Daley the past two seasons.
With those draft picks so crucial, and the Panthers riding a four-game winning streak as is, why rock the boat with a trade?
The answer is simple: You don’t.
