The Carolina Panthers have made huge changes this offseason to their offense and now they could be looking at another. After receiving frequent calls from around the league, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Panthers are now open to trading wide receiver Curtis Samuel.
A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Samuel hasn’t quite lived up to the hopes the team had for him. However, he still managed to be fairly productive this past season despite Cam Newton being sidelined for a majority of the year.
Samuel set career-highs in targets (105), receptions (54), receiving yards (627) and receiving touchdowns (seven). The 23-year-old also proved to be a versatile weapon on offense, racking up 130 rushing yards and averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
Carolina signed star receiver Robby Anderson in free agency, reuniting him with head coach Matt Rhule and they are very high on top receiver D.J. Moore. However, Samuel is still at the early stages of his development and could be a nice weapon in Joe Brady’s offense, which relies on three-receiver sets.
If the Panthers willingness to deal Samuel is genuine, he would be a fantastic addition for nearly any NFL team. The Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots stand out as just a few teams that would greatly benefit from adding a player like Samuel.
There are some exciting names available on the trade market during the 2020 NFL Draft and Samuel jumps near the top of the list for names that could be dealt in the next two days.