Some thought the Carolina Panthers could be at least somewhat competitive last season after they drafted quarterback Bryce Young No. 1 overall and added wide receiver Adam Thielen and running back Miles Sanders.
Sanders was coming off a career-best effort with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022. That year, he ran for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging an excellent 4.9 yards per carry, which were numbers that earned him his first-ever Pro Bowl nod.
He played a key role in getting the Eagles to the brink of a Super Bowl championship, and it was thought perhaps he would help Carolina take a step forward.
But he had a dismal 2023 campaign, and Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report has tabbed him as a trade candidate for a Panthers team that went 2-15 last season.
“They should be looking to offload Miles Sanders whether they start the season strong or not,” Ballentine wrote . “They would save $6.2 million against the cap if they could find him a home and he is clearly not part of the running back plan after the Panthers drafted Jonathon Brooks with the 46th pick in the draft.”
It may be best for the Panthers to trade Miles Sanders
The 2023 season was another chaotic one for the Panthers. They finished 31st in points scored and last in passing yards and total yards of offense, and Young struggled mightily, mustering just 2,877 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns while completing just 59.8 percent of his pass attempts.
Sanders fell to 432 rushing yards and one touchdown while averaging a meager 3.3 yards per rush attempt despite missing just one game. In fact, he had just over half as many rushing attempts as Chuba Hubbard, who managed to post 902 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Sanders is just 27 years of age, so one would think he still has a decent amount of juice left in his tank.
Brooks, Carolina’s second-round draft choice who Ballentine mentioned, had 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground last year while at the University of Texas. He tore his ACL in November while playing against Texas Christian University. Otherwise, his season stats would’ve been somewhat higher.
It wouldn’t make sense for the Panthers to keep Sanders much longer when he clearly isn’t a game-breaking tailback and doesn’t quite match up with the timeline of Young. It would likely be best for them to clear their financial books as much as possible and build through the draft and through smart free-agent acquisitions at other positions.
That could mean that a trade for Sanders may be in the cards.
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