In the wake of the controversial decision to bench former No. 1 pick Bryce Young, the Carolina Panthers have become a hotbed for discussion about trades.
And it doesn’t even have to include trade ideas specifically revolving around Young himself.
Over at Bleacher Report, Kristopher Knox has suggested two current Panthers stars should rank highly on trade big boards around the league.
One is wide receiver Diontae Johnson:
“Receiver-needy teams could use Johnson, who caught 51 passes for 717 yards and five touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers' No. 2 receiver last year.”
The other is running back Miles Sanders:
“Carolina signed the 2022 Pro Bowler to a four-year, $25.4 million deal last offseason and has not gotten a strong return on investment. Sanders was pulled from the starting lineup after five games last season and remains the backup to Chuba Hubbard.”
There’s a theme there—both players came over from other teams after successful stints and have struggled since. Johnson was supposed to be an exclamation point in a wideout trio that includes Adam Thielen and Xavier Legette, yet has just five catches on 12 targets. Sanders has carried the ball just 12 times.
But there is a scenario where both guys see a big production boost with Andy Dalton under center orchestrating the offense in a veteran-like manner. The question, then, becomes whether the Panthers might use that uptick in trade value to move them while continuing to reshape the roster around the question mark that is the quarterback position.
A fire sale on contract for veterans that won’t necessarily be around for the long haul might make some sense at this year’s deadline, even if the return is minimal. That makes the Panthers arguably the most notable team to watch for trades this season, not even because of Young himself.
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