Smolar
The Carolina Panthers continue to find new ways to amaze people by how dumb they are. At 1-7 they are clearly going nowhere this season and were never going anywhere in the first place, that news is not anything we’re unaware of.
When NFL teams struggle out of the gate but still have some valuable veterans on their team, it offers an opportunity for them to make a trade with a contender that is missing a certain piece of the puzzle. In this case, the contending team gets a midseason boost, and the rebuilding team gets valuable draft capital for the future while allowing for the veteran to chase a championship on his new team, or at least that’s how the trade deadline typically works in the NFL.
In case you’re unaware, Carolina traded Diontae Johnson and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick on Tuesday. The fact that they traded Johnson is not a surprise, there were good teams across the league that needed receiver help and Johnson clearly never fit into the Panthers’ long-term plans, whatever those are.
What makes this move baffling is how little Carolina managed to get in return for their top receiver. When the Panthers traded for Johnson back in March, they had to send starting cornerback Donte Jackson and a sixth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
When you look at other receiver trades around the league, it makes this move even more puzzling. The Raiders managed to get a 2025 conditional third-round pick from the Jets for Davantae Adams while getting his entire contract off their books while the Browns got a third-round pick from the Bills for Amari Cooper. The Titans trading Deandre Hopkins to the Chiefs was the one receiver trade that wasn’t great value for the rebuilding team (Tennessee got a conditional fifth-round pick), until the Johnson trade.
The Panthers are eating $3.2 million in dead money for this move, which wouldn’t be that bad if they were getting a good return that would help them in the future. The problem is they aren’t getting a good return as they in essence got rid of one of their better cornerbacks in Jackson for half a season of Johnson and the right to move up 10-15 spots in the fifth round of next year’s draft.
It has been believed that the Ravens gave Carolina the best offer for Johnson out of a handful of teams interested, which seems hard to believe. Johnson not that long ago made a Pro Bowl with Pittsburgh and this season has 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns in seven games on a terrible Panthers offense. That is at minimum comparable production to the other traded receivers and should unquestionably have fetched a better return.
When Carolina traded for Johnson, they thought it would help Bryce Young get going as an NFL quarterback and at least give him a reliable target to throw the ball to. Dave Canales then benched Young after just two disastrous games and turned to Andy Dalton because he thought it gave them the best chance to win, even though that was never really the goal for Carolina this year. If winning is really the goal, what does getting rid of your best player on offense accomplish?
Nobody really expected the Panthers to do anything notable this year after winning just two games in 2023. What some did expect was for Canales to help Young develop into a respectable NFL starter and show some progress as a franchise. That has clearly not happened, and progress doesn’t seem to be on the horizon anytime soon.
For the Ravens this is a great trade at incredible value. Johnson will join a team with Super Bowl aspirations and get to play with one of the league’s better quarterbacks in Lamar Jackson. Defenses will have a heck of a time trying to defend Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and now Johnson.
For Panthers fans, you can think back to the Cam Newton days for some good memories and hope that Carolina doesn’t make another mind-boggling trade with whatever top pick they get at the 2025 NFL Draft. In the meantime, it’s best to get excited about the Hurricanes because the Panthers aren’t going to be competitive anytime in the near future with the leadership they currently have.