The Carolina Panthers have been one of the busiest teams in the NFL this off-season. It began by shaking up the NFL Draft landscape after trading up to the No. 1 overall pick. Since then, general manager Scott Fitterer has prioritized retaining and signing marquee free agents.
The Carolina Panthers signed plenty of viable starters on both sides of the ball, including safety Vonn Bell, defensive tackle Shy Tuttle and running back Miles Sanders. They also re-signed center Bradley Bozeman to a three-year deal, solidifying the offensive line that showed vast improvement last season.
Still, there’s plenty of time to add rotational pieces and impact players that can serve key roles in various moments throughout the upcoming season. Here are four potential moves the Carolina Panthers still have time to make this offseason.
Trade Matt Corral
As much as Carolina Panthers fans would want to keep Matt Corral on the roster, his career in Carolina may be short-lived.Â
The Panthers traded up to first overall with the intention of taking a quarterback that will be the face of the franchise for years to come. Additionally, Carolina signed Andy Dalton to a two-year, $10 million dollar deal to serve as the backup and mentor of the future rookie quarterback. Making Corral the new third-string QB.
His stock is still relatively high just one year after being drafted in the third round. There’s likely some interest from around the league to acquire Corral to serve as a backup quarterback.
It’s unfortunate that Corral could be on the move, especially after suffering a Lisfranc injury in the preseason and never getting the opportunity to take regular-season reps. But for the Carolina Panthers, this could be the best time to move on and get the best return on a young quarterback prospect.
Sign DJ Chark
Since trading DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears, the Panthers have acquired tight end Hayden Hurst and wide receiver Adam Thielen. Both are expected to play a big role in the passing game, but Carolina is going to need another young, versatile wideout to join the receiver group. DJ Chark is the ideal target that can create separation out wide or in the slot.
Prior to signing Thielen, the Panthers had six receivers under contract: Terrace Marshall Jr., C.J. Saunders, Laviska Shenault Jr., Shi Smith, Preston Williams, and Derek Wright. Of those six, only one has even achieved more than 600 yards in a single season (Shenault in 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars).
Chark has dealt with injuries the past two seasons but finished with 502 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games with the Detroit Lions last season. Whoever the Carolina Panthers select at No. 1 overall, he’s going to need some weapons on the outside to have success, and signing Chark could go a long way.
Trade for DeAndre Hopkins
The Arizona Cardinals are looking to trade DeAndre Hopkins, and there’s plenty of interest from multiple teams looking to acquire the former All-Pro receiver. At the moment, the asking price is a second-round pick plus something else of value, according to NFL insider Albert Breer.
Hopkins is coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons with the Cardinals. In his last 19 games, he’s totaled just 106 receptions for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns. Nevertheless, he’s still one flashiest receivers in the league and can produce on any team with any quarterback. If Hopkins were to join the Panthers, he would immediately become the top receiver option on the team.
Hopkins did have a no-trade clause in his new contract, but it was voided after the receiver was suspended for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy. Therefore, he doesn’t have the leverage to say where he wants to go, and it will come down to the best options for the Cardinals.
And based on what the Dallas Cowboys gave up to acquire Brandin Cooks, a fifth- and sixth-round pick, it may not require what Arizona is hoping for.
Draft an edge rusher
The Carolina Panthers has addressed a lot of its needs this offseason already, but one that has yet to be fixed is the pressure created off the edge. A lot of the Panthers’ sacks last season came from Brian Burns, who accounted for 12.5 of Carolina’s 35. Yetur Gross-Matos was the starter last year alongside Burns but only totaled 2.5 sacks in 17 games.
Similarly to last year, this is a very deep edge rusher class and the Panthers could find a replacement in the NFL Draft. According to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, 10 of the top 50 draft prospects are edge rushers. Some of the players to keep an eye on for Day 2 are Felix Anudike-Uzomah, BJ Ojulari, Adetomiwa Adebawore, and Tuli Tuipulotu.
Even though the Panthers traded a lot of draft picks to the Bears, they still own the 39th overall pick in this year’s event. There should be plenty of edge prospects still available then to bolster the defensive front.