Carolina Panthers mailbag: Who are the top options to be dealt before the trade deadline?

The Panthers are staring up at the other 31 teams in the NFL standings ahead of Week 6’s slate of games.

The puzzling start to the Frank Reich era has led to more questions than answers, as the Carolina squad has been forced to glare at an 0-5 output to begin the campaign. Naturally, Panthers fans are frustrated and confused after an offseason of optimism and excitement.

That’s why The Observer is bringing back the weekly Panthers mailbag to provide some context, analysis and answers for fans’ questions.

Here are a handful of inquiries from social media:

Andre asks: Do you see any good on this team and do you see us being active on the trade deadline selling or buying?

I do think there have been some standouts during this gross start to the season.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen has played quite well and largely exceeded expectations. Yetur Gross-Matos, who was an awkward fit on paper for Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 scheme, has really come along as a rotational player, and it’s not a stretch to say he’s been the most positive surprise on the roster through five games — though that’s probably a lower bar than most would care to admit.

Running back Chuba Hubbard has carried the ball well, despite his inconsistent touches. Defensive tackle Derrick Brown has played up to his billing, while linebacker Frankie Luvu has been a fun wild card of sorts as a blitzer.

The specialist trio of Eddy Piñeiro, JJ Jansen and Johnny Hekker has been on point all season. The specialists have been the most consistent aspect of the squad through five games, really.

As far as the trade deadline goes, I’m under the impression this team will be more into the sellers market than the buyers market. The team has limited draft resources to swap out for proven players, and an 0-5 team — just based on logic — shouldn’t be looking to take on short-term help in exchange for long-term assets.

Despite reports of interest in wideouts on the trade market, there aren’t a whole lot of options that are worthy of parting with major draft capital, even if the Panthers were willing to spend it (or had excessive resources).

While Denver Broncos wideouts Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton seem like swell options to improve the offense, they probably aren’t going to be major difference-makers for a team that needs A LOT of help elsewhere.

Hypothetically, let’s say the Panthers could acquire them for a 2024 second- or third-round pick. Dealing that selection would limit the Panthers to just one pick in the first three rounds, and on top of that, Carolina would need to take on an eight-figure salary in 2024 (and possibly beyond).

Trading the pick isn’t the entire cost for landing a receiver like Sutton or Jeudy. Sutton is signed through 2025 and is set to make $13 million next season, according to Over The Cap. Similarly, Jeudy is set to make $12.98 million on his fifth-year option next season.

While the Panthers are projected to have plenty of cap space in 2024, trading for Sutton or Jeudy would likely lead to extension talks and either wideout acquired would have major leverage in negotiations because of the asset given up for them.

The same could be said for other wideouts as well. Trading for Hunter Renfrow, as mentioned in previous mailbags, would be a redundant addition with Thielen on the roster. So, trading for a middling but well-paid slot receiver wouldn’t be worth tossing away long-term assets in hopes of saving the offense.

Instead, the Panthers could look to gain assets by selling away talent on the trade market. That’s typically what struggling teams do. And without a 2024 first-round pick to call their own, the Panthers should be looking to gain as many future assets as possible this month.

Jared asks: Who are two players you would sell at the trade deadline if you were Scott Fitterer?

Brian Burns and Donte Jackson would top my list.

Burns should — in theory — be capable of fetching a massive haul on the trade market. The Panthers don’t have a 2024 first-round pick, and their season looks bleak without a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a Day 1 draft selection.

Last season, the Panthers turned down the Los Angeles Rams, who offered two first-round picks and more for Burns. The two offered first-round picks were reportedly set for 2024 and 2025 anyway, so the team could argue that holding onto Burns for another season didn’t cost them much, if they were to land a similar compensation package. If GM Scott Fitterer could get two first-round picks — and possibly more — for Burns, it’d be a no-brainer deal, especially considering the stalemate on the pass rusher’s contract extension talks.

With regards to Jackson, it’d be about getting out of a poor contract for the team. The Panthers signed Jackson to a three-year, $35.18 million deal last offseason. So far, he’s missed nine of 22 total games — due to injury — since putting pen to paper. He also hasn’t played all that well when healthy, either.

The cornerback is set to make $4.7 million in base salary — along with a separate $4 million roster bonus — next season. Swapping Jackson for a late-round pick would create more cap space for next offseason, when the Panthers seemingly plan to attack the free-agent market. A deal would also present an opportunity for younger corners like D’Shawn Jamison, Sam Webb and Dicaprio Bootle to get more playing time.

A similar deal to what Fitterer got for wideout Robbie Anderson (a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 seventh-round pick) would be a logical value for Jackson if possible.

Going beyond those two options are defensive back Jeremy Chinn and tight end Tommy Tremble.

Chinn has received inconsistent playing time this season, and he’s in the final year of his rookie contract. Tremble has been somewhat buried on a lackluster positional depth chart to this point.

Chinn and Tremble could draw interest from a team that scouted them during their respective draft process. A Day 3 pick for either player would be a win.

Adam asks: Is there any chance at all at seeing this coaching staff let go after one year similar to Denver?

Adam is referencing last year’s midseason departure of one-and-done former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Coincidentally, Evero, the Panthers’ defensive coordinator, served in the same role under Hackett last year, as did linebackers coach Peter Hansen and safeties coach Bert Watts.

While the Panthers are 0-5, without much hope seemingly in sight, the situations are completely different.

Hackett was dealing with external and internal chaos all around him, along with the arrival of new ownership that inherited him. The ownership group clearly wanted its own guy after Hackett failed to live up to expectations in Denver, and the head coach was fired midway through his first season.

Reich is a veteran head coach with a history of late starts. Owner David Tepper had to be aware of that history prior to the hiring process. While it would be stunning to see the Panthers turn this thing around to the point of even a mediocre standing, Tepper shouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet.

Frankly, it would be wild — given the amount of money invested in this staff — to see Tepper clean house.

Both Evero and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown are among the notable young minds in the profession, and both interviewed for head coaching positions this offseason. The staff also features well-respected assistant coaches like offensive line coach James Campen, running backs/assistant head coach Duce Staley, defensive line coach Todd Wash, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and senior assistants Dom Capers and Jim Caldwell.

While there will clearly be some accountability in the way of the staff and roster for this brutal start — and a potentially lost season — it’d likely be a half-measure instead of a complete revamping, especially with the amount of time and assets wrapped into the Bryce Young selection this offseason.

It would probably take a tanking of epic proportions to see a mass exodus in the coaching realm in Carolina. But, given the way this has all begun, it’s impossible to rule out anything.

Curtis asks: If the Panthers hit the bye week (at) 0-6, do you think Thomas Brown is calling plays Week 8?

This is a great tag-along question for the previous answer.

If there was a good time to hand over the keys to the offensive play-calling duties, it would be after the bye week. That outlook would give Brown an entire week to prepare before players returned to the facility. The switch would also allow for a clean slate of sorts beyond the week of rest.

At this point, it’s understandable that fans are clamoring for a play-calling change on offense.

There are a lot of operational mistakes taking place on a weekly basis, and Reich focusing solely on big-picture operations in game settings could help alleviate those issues. Clearly, Reich juggling both play-calling and game-management responsibilities isn’t leading to ideal (or even middling) results.

With a potential 0-6 outlook entering a week of rest, something would need to give. We’ll see how this week goes. I’m not particularly optimistic about it.