The Carolina Panthers stayed on Deshaun Watson’s tracks for over year, only to see him ultimately chose the Cleveland Browns in a blockbuster move one month ago. But could the spurned party spur a blockbuster trade of their own for another standout passer?
Perhaps they could—as the strange disconnect between the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray continues to linger. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick and two-time Pro Bowler is still waiting on his big-money deal, but the organization’s apparent hesitancy to give him one has some forecasting a messy divorce for all involved.
That may not, however, eventually be the case according to MMQB’s Albert Breer. On Monday, Breer opined that the Cardinals and their high-stakes waiting game may not even afford a team like Carolina the chance to move in on Murray.
“But the Panthers’ situation is a perfect illustration of why Murray’s camp viewed timing as so important to his situation in the first place,” Breer writes. “Carolina’s one of just a few teams left out there (Seahawks, Falcons, Lions) that don’t have their QB plans set for 2022. Once we get past the draft, you figure more, if not all, of those teams will drop off the lust, because they’ll either take one or they’ll dive in on a Mayfield or a Garoppolo. And that organically takes an arrow out of Murray’s quiver, when it comes to trying to leverage a deal out of Arizona, because it’s tough to pull the trade-demand lever if there isn’t a team out there willing to give him the kind of contract he wants, while also handing over a war chest of draft capital to acquire him.”
There’s not much time left to waste for the Panthers, and specifically Matt Rhule. 2022 is a make-or-break campaign for the third-year head coach, so sitting around and hoping a team ships off their superstar quarterback isn’t exactly a sound strategy.
Instead, and we’re sure to the dismay of the team’s faithful, they’re much more inclined to trade for a veteran who is actually on the outs—either San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo or Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield. Or, if they leave next week’s draft without some competition under center and don’t want to give up what the 49ers or Browns are looking for, then maybe Sam Darnold gets another crack at it.
Sorry that you can’t have nice things, Carolina fans.
