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Panthers Have Big Trade Opportunity After Shocking GM Firing

With the Tennessee Titans firing GM Ran Carthon on Tuesday, the Carolina Panthers should have an eye on one of their talented defenders.

By Jovan Alford

Sep 22, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Sep 22, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Carolina Panthers ended the 2024 regular season on a high note, defeating the Atlanta Falcons, 44-38 in overtime. The overall sentiment from the Week 18 win is that the Panthers found their franchise quarterback in Bryce Young.

The second-year quarterback was outstanding in the overtime win, compiling 251 passing yards and five total touchdowns. With the Panthers knowing who will be their guy under center is a big relief and allows them to focus on other parts of the roster.

In the offseason, the Panthers must make a concerted effort to upgrade their defense at all three levels. Carolina has a few talented players (Jaycee Horn, Jadeveon Clowney, Derrick Brown) but needs more to compete in the NFC South.

One area that the Panthers should look to address is pass rushing, which didn’t have much help outside of Clowney. As a team, Carolina had 32 teams (third-fewest in the NFL). Their leaders in sacks were A’Shawn Robinson and Clowney with 5.5 apiece.

While it’s good to see Clowney and Robinson produce on the d-line, the Panthers need another guy off the edge, who can also stop the run – enter Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Harold Landry.

Landry has spent the last six years with the Titans and recently signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract extension in 2022. 

Tennessee hasn’t indicated that Landry is available, but with the team shockingly parting ways with GM Ran Carthon on Tuesday, Tennessee shakes up the roster. The 28-year-old Landry is coming off a solid 2024 campaign. 

He had 71 combined tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits, and nine sacks. Landry also recorded 18 QB pressures (the lowest in his career), but he had a good run-defense grade among 211 edges on PFF (82.2).

The Panthers could use some help on run defense, as they gave up a league-worst 179.8 yards per game. The Titans have a potential out in Landry’s contract for 2025, but it's unlikely they would cut him.

However, it won’t be easy to trade Landry as he has cap hits of $24 million in 2025 and ‘26. If the Panthers were to go after him, they’d need to rework their cap space. According to Over The Cap, Carolina is projected to have $22 million in cap space with 21 UFAs.

Carolina could free up more cap space if they moved on from Miles Sanders and possibly Josey Jewell, who wasn’t great in his first year with the team. Lastly, even if the Panthers don’t go after Landry, the precedent remains that they must address the defense in the offseason.

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