Panthers have an intriguing opportunity to help Vikings’ QB problem while clearing up a growing roster dilemma
The Carolina Panthers have multiple players set to return soon from the IR and could easily open one roster spot by flipping quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Carolina Panthers have a little under three more hours until the 4:00 p.m. ET NFL trade deadline arrives and one potential trade is staring general manager Dan Morgan right in the face that can also help the team with some upcoming roster decisions.
With how things looked on Monday night, the Minnesota Vikings are eagerly calling around the league looking for a viable starting quarterback. Kyler Murray is dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring, Carson Wentz struggled in his place against the Buffalo Bills, and yet the team is still 6-2 on the season.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell has put up the Batman-signal hoping some team will be able to offer a starting-caliber player. The problem is, the top options in Kirk Cousins, Daniel Jones, and Geno Smith don’t seem like they’ll be made available by their current team.
One team with an extra quarterback is the Carolina Panthers. Could Kenny Pickett be a player the Panthers look to trade here in the next few hours?
This would be the opportunity Kenny Pickett has been waiting for
Even Pickett signed a one-year deal with the Panthers, he made his intentions known that he still believes he can be a starting quarterback in this league despite signing on to be a backup. That opportunity won’t come in Carolina, but it could come in Minnesota with a runway to prove himself on a winning team before hitting the market again.
“I believe this is a player who’s on the rise, who’s trending towards having another opportunity as a starter,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said earlier this year of Pickett. “He’s not here to do that. He’s not here to compete with Bryce to be the starter. But I see a guy like Geno Smith, like Baker Mayfield, like Sam Darnold. I see a guy who’s accumulating enough playtime and experience and exposure to different systems, seeing different defenses, with his ability, with his mind, the way that he works. I see a guy that’s going to have another opportunity.”
Pickett has recent playing experience during the preseason and limited action in the Tampa Bay game. He would also be an available, and cheap option, for the Vikings to consider. According to the A to Z Sports Trade Simulator, it would only take a future Day 3 selection to acquire Pickett and see what he can do.
At that point, why would Carolina trade him?
This is a valid question that I’m sure people will have reading this article. For starters, getting any pick for a backup on an expiring deal is good business. Trading a QB is always risky, unless you have another option. The Panthers have that other option in UDFA rookie Haynes King, who flashed in his limited preseason action and has since been a healthy inactive holding up a spot on the 53-man roster.
Pickett has no future in Carolina, King does. And if Bryce Young were to go down, I’m sure fans would rather see what the team has in King than seeing Pickett out there again. That’s why they should trade him.
The other thing to note is that the Panthers need to open spots on the 53-man roster really soon. Brady Christensen, Xavier Legette, Jonathon Brooks, Mike Jackson, and Jaycee Horn will all need to be activated in the coming weeks, and roster gymnastics will have to be made to bring them back. Right now, Carolina doesn’t have a single roster spot open.
There’s no need to keep three quarterbacks (or even five TEs for that matter, looking at you Ja’Tavion Sanders) when you need to bring back key starters. If Morgan could flip some of these backups for picks, and open up roster spots, that’s a win-win for this team. And Pickett deserves his chance to start somewhere.
