Jonathan Mingo Deal Doesn't Make Up for Panthers' Huge Trade Deadline Blunder

The Carolina Panthers made one of the best moves in the NFL at the trade deadline on Tuesday, fleecing the Dallas Cowboys by getting a fourth-round pick in return for Jonathan Mingo. That's a move that fans and the front office should absolutely be celebrating.

But that doesn't mean the team nailed the deadline by any stretch, and fans shouldn't overlook some major mistakes just because they made one good move.

In fact, arguably the biggest blunder the front office made at the deadline came within the same position group. And I'm not even talking about getting a terrible return for Diontae Johnson. The Panthers were straight up foolish to not trade Adam Thielen.

Let's start with the argument for keeping Thielen, how the team may justify the lack of a move, and then I'll look at why those excuses simply don't cut it.

The big one that comes to mind from an on-field standpoint is that, even in a lost season, the Panthers need to keep some wide receiver talent so Bryce Young has someone to throw to while they try to evaluate whether he is the future of the franchise. The other, of course, is whether a potential return in a trade was enough value to make up for losing him.

The value piece obviously hinges on that first part, because winning games is not the Panthers' concern, so even if Thielen makes this offense marginally better that does not matter.

But how much better a chance does he give Bryce Young to prove himself? Young's two best starts of the season were his last two, which came without Thielen. His absence has freed up Jalen Coker, who has been the Panthers' best wideout this year by PFF grade and by average yards per target.

What's more, how much do the Panthers seem to care about giving Young a real shot to prove himself Benching him for Andy Dalton, and then refusing to commit to him as the starter when he returns to the lineup and excels isn't exactly a move out of the "quarterback development" playbook. Trading Thielen is going to do a lot less to hinder his development than whatever that song and dance was.

And if Young does prove to be the answer, giving him time to play and build chemistry with Coker and Xavier Legette will be important.

It's also not like there aren't other veteran wide receivers sitting at home who could give Young a similar presence. Someone like Corey Davis or Willie Snead isn't going to be an exciting addition, but they'd serve a similar role to Thielen.

And for the value conversation, literally anything is worth it for Thielen at this point — even a late-round pick swap. He's going to be 35 years old in the final year of his deal in 2025, and the Panthers' rebuild will still be far from complete at that stage. He's also going to carry an $8.4 million cap hit, making him a cut candidate.

But cutting him, obviously, doesn't bring even the small return a trade could yield. And his contract will also leave more dead money on the Panthers' books if they cut him compared to trading him.

More Carolina Panthers news and analysis: