Last offseason, the Carolina Panthers broke out some bills for running back Miles Sanders—agreeing upon a four-year, $25.4 million contract. But is their time together already up?
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently named his top post-June 1 cut and trade candidates. Sanders squeezes into the six-player list following a nightmarish start to his relationship with the Panthers:
A year after signing a top free-agent deal with Carolina, Sanders may well be fighting for backup carries alongside Jonathon Brooks and Chuba Hubbard, even with new coach Dave Canales angling for a stronger run game. Releasing Sanders would save the Panthers an instant $200,000.
Sanders, who had a career year for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022, hit lows in starts (five), attempts (129) and rushing yards (432). He also scored just one touchdown and averaged 3.3 yards per carry—the third-lowest in the NFL amongst all qualifying players.
But perhaps there’s hope for this marriage. Even after being bumped out of the starting duties by Hubbard and seeing the Panthers take the first running back of the entire 2024 draft, Sanders—at least according to president of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan—may still have a place on this team.
“In terms of Miles, we love Miles,” Morgan said after drafting Brooks in April. “We see a big role for him. I think Dave [Canales] will tell you the same thing—we think really highly of Miles, we love Miles. He can do a lot for our offense. He’s versatile in the pass game and he’s a really good runner. So we’re excited about him as well.”
