The Panthers’ cornerback room has turned into a weekly stress test, and general manager Dan Morgan is the one left staring at the problem.
Carolina has been hit hard at the position, and the injuries have piled up on top of a depth chart that was already thin. With Tuesday afternoon’s NFL trade deadline looming, Morgan has to decide whether to bring in help now or hold off until the offseason.
The list of losses keeps growing. Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson both went down in the Browns game in Week 3 and were placed on injured reserve.
Akayleb Evans landed on IR on October 29, and rookie Will Lee III suffered a hamstring injury against the Packers. By the time the Broncos game arrived, the Panthers were down to their last healthy cornerbacks.
Right now, Chau Smith-Wade is listed as a starting cornerback, with Malcolm DeWalt IV behind him on the depth chart.
The staff is doing what it can with what remains, but there’s only so much patchwork a defense can survive when the injuries keep coming. What has become clear is that Carolina needs a better plan behind its starters at cornerback.
Morgan does not have to force a deal before today’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.
He could still add a veteran cornerback to help the team through the rest of the season. He could also wait and attack the position in the draft with an early pick or make it a priority in free agency.
Horn and Jackson are expected back at some point, but their return doesn’t erase the concern. If either one misses more time later, the Panthers could be right back in the same spot.
The bigger issue is fit, not just availability. Morgan can’t simply grab any cornerback and call it a fix. He needs someone who can handle what the coaching staff asks without setting off a chain reaction of adjustments across the defense.
Carolina has spent the last few years trying to build a roster that can compete in the NFC South, but cornerback remains a lingering problem. Morgan doesn’t need to make a panic move before the deadline, but he does need to make sure the Panthers are better protected at the position going forward.
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