Inside the Panthers’ trade of Christian McCaffrey: 5 takeaways from GM Scott Fitterer
Roughly 12 hours after he traded the Carolina Panthers’ best offensive player to the San Francisco 49ers, general manager Scott Fitterer stood at a podium and told reporters the team isn’t tanking.
“Our focus is still going out and competing every weekend,” Fitterer said. “We expect to win. ... The NFL is a business where you lose guys, whether it’s injuries, trades, whatever happens. The expectation of winning never changes. Those guys in the locker room fight too hard, they work too hard every day, so we owe it to them. That’s our expectation as an organization, is to go out there and win.”
Fitterer, who joined the organization in Jan. 2021, traded former All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers for four draft picks late Thursday night. The Panthers acquired second-, third- and fourth-round selections in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024 for McCaffrey, who led the team in both rushing and receiving yards through six games.
At 1-5, the Panthers decided they needed to focus on the future of their franchise. Fitterer spent Tuesday through Thursday negotiating with teams, despite only receiving three firm offers since last Friday.
“We got to the point where two teams were pretty serious,” Fitterer said. “Went back and forth with them, and then it just got to the point where we thought this was what was best for the organization moving forward.”
Ultimately, the 49ers won a bidding war against another franchise. San Francisco was able to up its offer after Fitterer presented the other team’s package, according to the GM.
Here are five more takeaways from Fitterer’s availability:
The more picks, the merrier
The Panthers wanted a first-round pick for McCaffrey, but according to Fitterer, a Day 1 pick was never offered.
Carolina negotiated with multiple teams that didn’t have a first-round pick, and the teams that did have that selection didn’t want to budge and give away their top draft asset for McCaffrey.
Eventually, Fitterer and the front office agreed that the opportunity to gain more selections was advantageous. The Panthers came into the week with just nine draft picks over the next two offseasons, and following the trades of McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson, the organization now has 14 in that time frame.
McCaffrey knew this was coming
Fitterer said it was difficult to trade McCaffrey because of his importance to the community and the team. However, the Panthers felt like this was an opportunity to stock up for the long-term benefit of the organization.
The Panthers received their first legitimate offer last Friday, before the team’s 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. On Monday, Fitterer spoke with McCaffrey about the trade reports and rumors circling around him. Fitterer said he explained what was real and what wasn’t about the various reports.
From there, Fitterer and the front office got to work on Tuesday after weighing McCaffrey’s value to the team. Fitterer said McCaffrey never gave his preference of landing spot, but the GM did say the running back was excited to head to San Francisco, which is close his alma mater, Stanford.
Not so fast on that fire sale
Fitterer was adamant that the team isn’t “for sale,” and that there are players on the team who “are not going to go anywhere.” Fitterer was specifically asked about defensive end Brian Burns, linebacker Shaq Thompson, wideout D.J. Moore and defensive tackle Derrick Brown before he noted that there were players he wanted to keep around as building blocks.
Fitterer acknowledged that the team’s philosophy is to always listen to offers, but he has turned down inquiries for the players he wants to keep.
Fitterer chose not to specifically name the players who are untouchable, barring an “astronomical” offer. However, he did say he wants Burns and Brown around, and acknowledged Moore as an offensive building block during separate parts of Friday’s press conference.
No assurance that Fitterer will make new picks
When asked if he had received assurance that he would be the GM of the future, Fitterer said that he wasn’t worried about his or anyone else’s future, outside of the organization.
Fitterer said that he and Panthers owner David Tepper have had good conversations about the direction of the organization — following Matt Rhule’s firing — but refused to acknowledge if he had been told he would be back next year. However, he did acknowledge that he would help in finding the next head coach with Tepper, depending on who remained in their roles beyond this season.
Fitterer said that he had an excellent relationship with Rhule, despite not knowing him before the GM’s arrival in Charlotte.
A QB in the first round?
Fitterer was asked about using the Panthers’ first-round pick — likely to land among the Top 10 selections — on a quarterback. However, he declined to get into the specifics about roster needs.
The GM said he liked Matt Corral, for whom the team traded up to select in the third round in April. Corral has been sidelined for his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury.
When asked about Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, Fitterer took a “we’ll see” approach, stating that there was plenty of time remaining this season for those two to prove themselves.
Fitterer said just like with trade interest, the Panthers will always keep their options open, especially at quarterback.
“You have to have a quarterback to win in this league,” Fitterer said. “Until we have that position, until it’s set, we’re always going to be looking.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 1:06 PM.
