The Carolina Panthers walked away from the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday without making a move, and that silence says plenty about where this roster stands.
For a team dealing with injuries and shaky depth in the secondary, it was not the kind of response fans were hoping for. But the bigger issue isn’t just what the Panthers didn’t do at the deadline. It’s that the same cornerback problems have been hanging around for seasons, and general manager Dan Morgan still hasn’t done enough to clean them up.
The Panthers’ secondary has been too thin for too long. Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson can both play when they’re on the field, but that hasn’t been the real concern. The issue is what happens when one of them misses time, and Carolina has already been forced to deal with that reality.
Injuries have made the lack of depth impossible to ignore. The Panthers have not had enough reliable cornerback options behind their starters, and that has left the defense exposed when the rotation gets tested.
Morgan had chances to address the problem in free agency, in the draft and now at the trade deadline. Instead, the same weakness keeps showing up. The Panthers have had opportunities to shore up the position, but the roster still looks vulnerable in the exact same spot.
There was no need for Carolina to chase a splashy deal. With a 3-5 record, the Panthers were still leading the NFC South, and they still had a path to winning the division if they could start stacking victories. But even without a blockbuster swing, Morgan could have explored bringing in a veteran cornerback to help stabilize the group.
The Panthers did add veteran cornerback Jakorian Bennett to their practice squad on November 6, but that move does not erase the depth issue.
Some of the trade targets may have come at a price Morgan didn’t want to pay. That part is understandable. What’s harder to explain is why the secondary was left in this state in the first place.
This isn’t just about one quiet deadline. Morgan’s offseason decisions are going to be under the microscope too, because Carolina can’t keep leaning on injuries as the excuse for thin spots on the roster.
The Panthers were right not to give up valuable draft picks for a short-term fix. But that still doesn’t change the fact that the front office hasn’t built enough dependable depth at cornerback.
If Carolina’s secondary keeps struggling and the Panthers fail to take advantage of their chance to win the NFC South, Morgan will have to answer more than why he stood pat on deadline day. He’ll have to explain why the Panthers weren’t better prepared at key positions in the first place.
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Panthers Have An Ickey Ekwonu Problem They Can't Ignore
Ikem Ekwonus absence has become one of the quieter but more important questions hanging over Carolinas season. The Panthers starting left tackle is still working back from the torn patellar tendon he suffered in a playoff game in January, and he has yet to play this year, leaving the team to sort through both the short-term hole on the edge and the longer-term picture at a premium position.
The bigger issue is what comes next. Carolina picked up Ekwonus fifth-year option, but the contract situation could put him on the market after this season, and a player with his pedigree is the kind of lineman other teams will monitor closely if his recovery continues to trend in the right direction. The Panthers and Ekwonu reportedly want to keep the partnership going, which makes the coming months about more than just health - they may help determine whether a foundational piece stays in Carolina or becomes one of the more intriguing names available. [Read more 🡒]
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The timing could hardly be worse. With a difficult stretch ahead against opponents that can get after the quarterback, the Panthers are staring at a test that could put even more strain on an offense trying to find stability. If the line cannot clean things up quickly, the pressure on Young and the rest of the offense is only going to grow. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Are Still Alive But This Stretch Will Decide Everything
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Even at 3-5, the Panthers are still tied for first in the NFC South, which is why the next few weeks loom so large. Games against New Orleans, Baltimore and Tampa Bay will go a long way toward sorting out whether Carolina can turn this uneven start into something more meaningful, or whether the division race slips away before the season reaches its stretch run. [Read more 🡒]