kungfoodude

We aren't performing the worst in the NFL by most measures but I am not sure all of them have the extreme lack of OL unit ability that we do. I don't know that I wouldn't take some of those lower performing units at this point.

They did the best they could with their abilities(both older players at the time) but they were far from good. And neither of them was going to produce a playoff caliber team for us.

Well, that is how bad franchises eventually get their guy. You can also be aggressive and trade up to get your guy. There are a lot of ways to get better at QB without trading for Watson. To date, this staff has chosen the worst possible options available.

Can we blame them for lack of development on Teddy and Sam though? Those guys were known entities. I can definitely see the extreme lack of ability to evaluate QB's properly, that I will give you.

This next season, sure. But we literally only have one now. The OL is going to be a challenge whether we trade for Watson or not. We don't have much quality draft capital available in the 2022 draft, the free agency market is going to be very expensive and more importantly....I don't think people realize how bad our situation is on the OL. We don't just need four new starters, we probably need at least 3 capable backups, as well. You heard Fitterer already talk about it this season, he can't even get people to trade quality backup OL.

I was watching tonight. 5-0, baby! I was so pissed off at the goalie moves but this Anderson dude is making a believer out of me.

It isn't super hard to find OL talent in the first three rounds. It just seems to be for this franchise. Take a look at the OL drafted in the 1st through 3rd rounds of the last decade and you are going to see a LOT of All Pro, Pro Bowl and quality starters in that group. Panthers fans only believe this is difficult because historically we have sucked so royally at it.

You also aren't considering free agency or the ability to move players via trade to regain draft capital. Given the youth of our core, we will likely be making very tough personnel decisions in the next 1-4 years because we just can't simply keep everyone, although the Saints seem to be able to figure that out. Plus, we always have the ability to sign in free agency, as long as it isn't for more bums like Elflein and Erving. TB and Darnold have actively been harmful because they have actively lost us games. Franchise crippling has been the lack of OL investment over the past 20 years. That was franchise crippling. Getting a franchise QB is not something I would consider franchise crippling, unless he has some career ending injury. Then we are talking franchise crippling. Furthermore, this price we are all speculating on is almost certainly not real, unless Tepper gets all hot and bothered and we overpay like we did for Darnold. The Texans reportedly want this done by the trade deadline(Nov. 2). That pretty much cuts their negotiating ability down if they actually mean that. If that is a hard date, we may be able to get him far cheaper than they want for him. Or, that could all be pure BS and they are just trying to stir up a bidding war.

We don't use the picks on OL is the problem. Especially in the 1st-3rd rounds. That's literally why we continue to suck at OL. The defense is relatively deep in most areas outside LB.

So you want to go from one subpar center to a worse center? That is Teddy to Darnold. Picking OL in the late rounds doesn't work unless you basically keep doing it over and over. After about the 4th round, the success rate drops dramatically, as does the chances of getting a starting quality player. That's part of the reason we are in the mess currently. The Panthers have historically not invested high draft picks in OL. Corral and Willis are fool's gold. This is not the draft to get desperate and try to snag a QB in the first round. This is a very poor QB class. Spending money in free agency is fine in theory but for the $35 mil you would spend on Watson, you would be surprised how little that may get you in terms of elite offensive linemen. That market has exploded, even for interior players. We have to do something about the OL, so free agents will be involved regardless but trying to replace four spots solely in free agency would be prohibitively expensive and unlikely to be accomplished in one offseason. Trading Shaq is fine, in theory but we are already thin at LB so you make that position even more thin. Not to mention, I think that his contract would make him difficult to trade. The value we get in return is not going to be what we have invested, nor is it likely to gain us an upgrade. If you want to justify trading him for cap room, for sure, I can understand that. Robby would have some significant trade value because his contract is so cheap. We could get some value there. We could probably get some good value for Jackson in a tag and trade. We have to figure out what his market is going to be, though. He is the one guy on defense that has played really hard every game. Now, it's a contract year so you have to be naturally suspicious of production in those years but he does really seem to have matured and improved. He might be a guy I would be really reluctant to let go.

The Rams definitely have better coaching. You can fix the OL without 1st round draft picks. That's why our lack of investment in that area over the past 20 years is so fuging upsetting. You can get quality starters on the OL in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd round draft picks. At one point I posted an article here in the Huddle about how an analysis of draft picks showed that the highest success rate for any position in the first three rounds was OL. Now, you can also build through free agency, as well but that can get pretty expensive. Especially since the league is seeing a dearth of quality OL play.

It will be interesting to see Brady's career post-Carolina. I am assuming he is likely to get canned after this season, barring some major change at QB during the season. I see the set up coming, Rhule needs a scapegoat and Brady has the least ties to him. IMO, Brady is not the biggest reason for our struggles offensively but he definitely has contributed over the past two seasons. I'd like to see how he rebounds after his time here and where he does. We may find out he was just elevated too early or perhaps he was never anything more than a product of being in the right place at the right time.

Build around Darnold??? Are you fuging high?

I wish it was $18. That would be getting what we paid for.

I am not against the idea of investing draft capital in a QB but we had that chance in 2021 and passed. We spent money in 2021 to try and protect Darnold but it was unwisely spent. So, what do you propose to do in 2022?

You can try backpedaling all you want but in the context of this thread your post makes absolutely zero sense. Why the fug would we care what the Texans are on the hook for next season in a trade thread? Just admit you had no idea about the NFL salary cap and how it works.

It's amazing that some people miss this as Panthers fan. How over the past four seasons have we not learned this lesson yet? How many forgot about Weinke, Rodney Peete, Jimmy Clausen, the ghost of Vinny Testaverde? Jesus.

You realize this is a thread about a trade for him, correct? Or are you that fuging dumb? Did you think this was a Texans forum?

Not if he gets traded, dumbass.

Sad that you don't know what that means, however. The prorated signing bonus stays with the team that signed him, as that money has already been spent. But, I'm sure you weren't smart enough to know that, were you?

We were bidding against ourselves for Darnold. That is the truth.

100% incorrect.

Well, draft picks only go so far when your QB is a scrub that cannot take advantage of any single shred offensive talent you assemble. Take all our draft picks that have made a top 10 defense. How is that working out while our offense is shitting the bed so hard? You mean the cap that is due to explode in the next couple of seasons due to the new TV deals? I bet you have no idea what Watson would even cost us on the cap, do you?