With the NFL's trade deadline now less than a week away, the scenarios folks are coming up with are getting pretty creative.
The Carolina Panthers looked like buyers just a couple of weeks ago. But now, with the injuries just continuing to mount up, it looks like the right approach is to keep their draft picks and look to get better for next season.
If they wind up clearing the deck a bit, then third-year Ja'Tavion Sanders could be among those possibly on the outs. Even after a disappointing start to his career, Ben Solak at ESPN shared this interesting scenario as a potential trade between Carolina and the Chicago Bears—sending Sanders over for a sixth-rounder:
Sanders has been a healthy scratch in Carolina for much of the season despite his draft
status as a 2024 fourth-round selection. He is buried on the depth chart behind Tommy Tremble, Darren Waller and the direly underrated Mitchell Evans, but still has some YAC skills. The Bears lost Cole Kmet for the season because of a major knee injury, and though Sanders shares none of Kmet's skill set, he gives them another option at TE3 behind Colston Loveland and rookie third-round pick Sam Roush.
Yeah, that'll put the Bears over the top.
For one, the Panthers may be extremely lucky to land a sixth-rounder in exchange for Sanders—a 2024 fourth-rounder who hasn't been active all year. Second, Chicago isn't really hurting that badly for a tight end, seeing as though they have Loveland.
Third, if you didn't see Monday night's game between the Bears and the Seattle Seahawks, you missed the best football team we have seen this season—and it wasn't the reigning Super Bowl champions. Chicago dominated the Seahawks in all three phases—dropping 34 points on the best defense in the NFL, pulverizing quarterback Sam Darnold behind an offensive line that just acquired a future Hall of Fame guard even blocking a field goal for good measure.
The addition of All-Pro defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons has clearly inspired the Bears to kick their play into another gear. And if they continue to look as scary as they did in Week 8, then the rest of the league might have trouble keeping up.
So, by our estimation, giving away a future draft pick for a player with little to no trade value doesn't add up. But if the Panthers can get anything for Sanders at this point, then more power to them.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: ESPN shares perplexing trade scenario between Panthers, Bears
