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The Carolina Panthers struggled through a difficult 2023 NFL season, finishing the year with the worst overall record. Making things worse is that they don't even have the number-one overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to show for it after trading it away to the Chicago Bears last year.
Trading away high-valued assets has become a bit of a theme for the franchise in recent years, including during the 2024 NFL offseason. They were recently at it again when they sent away superstar edge rusher Brian Burns to the New York Giants.
Some Panthers fans seem to be frustrated after their most recent trade, including country music star Luke Combs. He shared his thoughts about the situation in a post from his personal X account:
"WHAT ARE WE DOING?!?!? No first round pick for McCaffrey a few years back and now none for Burns?!?! Are we just fire bombing the whole team here or what? I usually don’t comment on these kinds of things but it’s just becoming slow torture at this point."
Brian Burns was seeking a new contract in Carolina ahead of the 2024 NFL free-agency period, but failed to get one. They instead chose to use their non-exclusive franchise tag on their star defender before trading him away to the Giants. They received a second and fifth-round draft pick in return as Burns got the contract he was hoping for in New York, a massive five-year deal worth $150 million.
Luke Combs pointed out that this isn't the first time in recent history that the Panthers traded away one of their best players and didn't even land a first-rounder in return. The frustrations in Carolina are likely to continue this year partially due to their trades and with several other players departing the team as free agents. An agonizing rebuild appears to be in progress.
Panthers free agency outgoings
In addition to Brian Burns being traded away to the New York Giants, here is the list of free agents that could be on their way out of Carolina:
- CJ Henderson
- DJ Chark
- Shaquill Griffin
- Jeremy Chinn
- Laviska Shenault
- Raheem Blackshear
- Gabe Jackson
- Sam Franklin
- Marquis Haynes
- Chris Wormley
- Henry Anderson
- Justin McCray
- DeShawn Williams
- Kamu Gragier-Hill
- Ihmir Msith-Marsette
- Mac McClain
- Giovanni Ricci
- Jalen Dalton
Frankie Luvu and Yetur Gross-Matos were also free agents this year, but have both already agreed to deals in 2024 NFL free agency. Gross-Matos is returning to Carolina, while Luvu is reportedly joining the Washington Commanders.
Revisiting Panthers' Bryce Young and Christian McCaffrey trades
Last year ahead of the draft, the Carolina Panthers made a bold move by trading up to the number-one overall pick to select Bryce Young. In exchange, they sent the Chicago Bears star wide receiver D.J. Moore and a massive package of draft picks, including:
- 2023 1st round
- 2024 1st round
- 2023 2nd round
- 2025 2nd round
Earlier that year ahead of the trade deadline in the 2023 NFL season, the Panthers also traded away superstar running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers. They did so in exchange for three non-first-round draft picks, including:
- 2023 2nd round
- 2023 3rd round
- 2023 4th round
Will the Panthers make a big move in free agency or are they looking solely to the draft?
