Getty Image / Eakin Howard
Things weren’t all that bad for the Carolina Panthers just a few short years ago. The Team had strong young building blocks and new ownership as they looked to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
But, those young building blocks are gone, and owner David Tepper has lost significant support in the fan community in his first few years in charge. After star edge rusher Brian Burns was traded away to the New York Giants on Sunday, the franchise has officially bottomed out.
There’s no way to sugarcoat just how disastrous the 2023 Panthers season was. After trading a ton of assets, including this year’s first-round pick, to the Bears for the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, they had the worst record in the NFL and first-overall pick Bryce Young did not show much improvement over the course of the season.
They got some draft capital, a 2nd-rounder and a 5th-rounder, back for Brian Burns from the Giants on Monday. But, that means that they’ve now traded away three elite players aged 26 or younger in the last two years.
First, they traded superstar running back Christian McCaffrey away during the 2022 season to the San Francisco 49ers. He’s returned to form, was NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, and has revolutionized the 49ers offense.
Then, they traded away DJ Moore as part of the trade for the first-overall pick with the Bears last year prior to the NFL Draft. Trading away your only good pass-catcher to draft a quarterback seems counter-intuitive, but that’s what they did. Naturally, it didn’t work out, as Bryce Young’s receivers couldn’t get open, and the Bears now have the Panthers’ first-overall pick.
Now, they’ve traded Brian Burns away. Burns needed a new contract, and the Panthers decided they would rather trade the 25-year-old rather than give him a top-of-the-market extension. But, they could’ve traded him last offseason for significantly more draft capital than they got back this time. It’s just another move that shows incredible mismanagement in Charlotte.
Ultimately, the team is going full rebuild under new head coach Dave Canales. But, Panthers fans will always be wondering what could’ve been with their young core a few years ago.