Jump to content
  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

Panthers possibly trading Thielen?


philit99
 Share

Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

 

It's crazy that you don't understand the value of having those type of players when the rest of those position rooms are as young as they are.

Coaches coach, on the field and in the film room.

But players need vets to teach them the ropes about how to go about being a professional football player at their position.  They need the locker room mentorship, a place the coaches are only in on Gamedays.

Coaches run the drills, they can only coach up so many players between reps when they're also running the drill.

Vets like Thielen pull the young player aside and help coach them up between reps.

Thielen is one of the most "a pro's pro" guys of his generation, he had a hall of very good type of career as an undrafted D2 player who had to make his way in the league by out working and being more precise than the other players.

If Renfrow wasn't here to take on that role, this wouldn't even be a starting discussion for me, 4 of our Top 6 WRs are rookies or in their 2nd year, they need a Thielen and/or Renfrow around to help them reach their potential.

I think it's a myth you absolutely need vets at those positions just for your young talent to display even marginal levels of competency. It's a cop out for your coaching staff who should be up to the task.

Edited by frankw
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Look at a team like the Texans who already have two playoff wins after being one play away from the first overall pick less than 3 years ago.

Their oldest backup QB at any point since drafting Stroud is 26 years old. He also has a playoff win. Their wide receivers have never been older than 31 and that was Diontae Johnson last year as nothing more than a depth move after an injury who is anything but a veteran mentor. Beyond that virtually every receiver has been 23-27. They have one guy right now who is 29 the same age as Renfro.

They have talent but they do not have head and shoulders that much more talent than the Panthers and they do not rely on aging veterans to a fault. At some point we cannot keep making excuses for our FO and staff.

Edited by frankw
  • Beer 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, frankw said:

I think it's a myth you absolutely need vets at those positions just for your young talent to display even marginal levels of competency. It's a cop out for your coaching staff who should be up to the task.

 

1 minute ago, frankw said:

Look at a team like the Texans who already have two playoff wins after being one play away from the first overall pick less than 3 years ago.

Their oldest backup QB at any point since drafting Stroud is 26 years old. He also has a playoff win.  They're wide receivers have never been older than 31 and that was Diontae Johnson last year as nothing more than a depth move who is anything but a veteran mentor. Beyond that virtually every receiver has been 23-27. They have one guy right now who is 29 the same age as Renfro.

They have talent but they do not have head and shoulders that much more talent than the Panthers and they do not rely on aging veterans to a fault. At some point we cannot keep making excuses for our FO and staff.

It's not about age, it's about just having more than a year of experience like the rest of our WR room.

A 27 year old player who has been in the league for 4 or 5 years could very well be a mentor, if they're the right type of player/personality.

If nothing else, just watching how Thielen goes about his business would be beneficial to our super young room, not because he's 35, but because of how he does his job.  But he's also proven to be a willing mentor over his career, which makes him that much more valuable, again, not because of age, because of everything he brings to the table.

And no, you don't NEED players like that to be successful, but when you have them in house, and you have 1st round WRs in the last two years and two other WRs are an UDFA and a 6th rounder from the last two years, then you shouldn't be jumping at the chance to trade that player away for a fair market value.

He brings more to the team than a 5th rounder next year does, and quite probably even a 4th.  If the Vikings don't want to give us a 3rd, or a LB or DB, then I don't see trading him helping the team this year or in the long run.

  • Pie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

It's not about age, it's about just having more than a year of experience like the rest of our WR room.

A 27 year old player who has been in the league for 4 or 5 years could very well be a mentor, if they're the right type of player/personality.

If nothing else, just watching how Thielen goes about his business would be beneficial to our super young room, not because he's 35, but because of how he does his job.  But he's also proven to be a willing mentor over his career, which makes him that much more valuable, again, not because of age, because of everything he brings to the table.

And no, you don't NEED players like that to be successful, but when you have them in house, and you have 1st round WRs in the last two years and two other WRs are an UDFA and a 6th rounder from the last two years, then you shouldn't be jumping at the chance to trade that player away for a fair market value.

He brings more to the team than a 5th rounder next year does, and quite probably even a 4th.  If the Vikings don't want to give us a 3rd, or a LB or DB, then I don't see trading him helping the team this year or in the long run.

Panthers starters average age: 25.59

Texans starters average age: 26.08

Regardless of the Thielen trade or no trade the Panthers coaching staff have got to elevate this roster. It's inexcusable looking at the shape our division is in currently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, frankw said:

You seem to have a very loose definition of good. Understandable being a Panthers fan.

But turning down draft compensation for aging veterans with no future is a move perpetual losing franchises make.

As opposed to having a roster full of random 6th round scrubs who can't play?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

As opposed to having a roster full of random 6th round scrubs who can't play?

Just so we're clear. The discussed compensation for a 35 year old player who won't be here next season was a 4th.

We recently took Etienne and Ransom in the 4th and both look promising. Are you suggesting they're scrubs?

Edited by frankw
Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, frankw said:

Just so we're clear. The discussed compensation for a 35 year old player who won't be here next season was a 4th.

We recently took Etienne and Ransom in the 4th and both look promising. Are you suggesting they're scrubs?

add Saunders the year prior who most are excited about.  or the best current player on offense, Hubbard.

  • Pie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, frankw said:

Just so we're clear. The discussed compensation for a 35 year old player who won't be here next season was a 4th.

We recently took Etienne and Ransom in the 4th and both look promising. Are you suggesting they're scrubs?

I'm suggesting they're just as likely to be scrubs as they are to be good players. That's just the nature of mid-round draft picks. You're as likely to get an Troy Pride, Jr. as you are a Chuba Hubbard. Realistically, you're probably less likely to get a starter after round 3 than you are to get a guy who will end up cut after year 2.

We're entering a season that is crucial for Bryce in terms of either ascending to franchise QB or being a confirmed bust. Now is not the time to take away the one known quantity at WR that we have, no matter how confident we may be in the young guys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

I'm suggesting they're just as likely to be scrubs as they are to be good players. That's just the nature of mid-round draft picks. You're as likely to get an Troy Pride, Jr. as you are a Chuba Hubbard. Realistically, you're probably less likely to get a starter after round 3 than you are to get a guy who will end up cut after year 2.

We're entering a season that is crucial for Bryce in terms of either ascending to franchise QB or being a confirmed bust. Now is not the time to take away the one known quantity at WR that we have, no matter how confident we may be in the young guys.

Let's pause a sec and rewind. The hype for Bryce Young before we drafted him was beyond anything I've seen in a long time. If you're trying to tell me now after all the hoopla about his ability to make those around him better and the comparisons to hall of fame players across different sports leagues that him taking the next step this year fully hinges on Adam Thielen then we're probably already doomed. Thielen is not going to keep any defenses up at night. He has good hands and very low YAC. We have 4 young WR's ahead of him with potential that need crucial development and we certainly need to find out what we have in them sooner rather than later because regardless of what transpires this season the QB room should undoubtedly be getting a hard reset. Those reps need to go to the young WR's regardless. Bryce needs to step up and take ownership of the relationship between himself and his young receivers. That's why we drafted him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

Keeping good players surely isn't the problem. Neither is not having more late-round draft picks.

This is more of a question than a statement.  Could overly hanging on to pretty good players be a problem for us though?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Tr3ach said:

This is more of a question than a statement.  Could overly hanging on to pretty good players be a problem for us though?

I'd rather hang onto "pretty good" players than trade all the "pretty good" players we have for picks that we'll use to draft players that are "pretty shitty."

  • Pie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trading Thielen would be a lot easier to do if Legette wasn’t legit ass. Trade Thielen then Coker misses a few weeks with another minor injury and then what?

I’m all for saving cap during years we aren’t planning on contending (this year) but this is a pivotal year for Bryce and I’d hate to see him lose Thielen for a 4th

A 3rd I’d take in a heartbeat. A 4th meh. A 5th no

  • Beer 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share


  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Observer article    I left out the specialists which is the 3rd position  Panthers haven’t drafted three positions under Morgan: Will that change in 2026? Mike Kaye [email protected] 4 hrs ago The Carolina Panthers, two years into the Dan Morgan-Dave Canales era, have yet to draft an offensive lineman. That is likely to change in 2026. The organization has selected  three wide receivers,  two tight ends,  two running backs, two defensive backs, two defensive linemen and two outside linebackers  during the shared reign of Morgan and Canales. Those multiple selections at several positions have come at the expense of the offensive line. But there are other positions that have been avoided, too. With the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine ongoing in Indianapolis, let’s take a look at the three notable positions evaded by the organization over the past two drafts: Quarterback Last time position was drafted by Panthers:Bryce Young (first round, 2023) Impending free agents at the position: N/A Current depth chart under contract: Young, Andy Dalton   The Panthers can’t really be criticized for not selecting a quarterback over the past two years. The team invested a ton of draft capital in Young while trading up for the first overall pick in 2023. Young has legitimately rebounded from a brutal rookie year and a whirlwind 2024 season that saw him get benched for roughly a third of the campaign. The Heisman trophy-winning passer posted career-high numbers in 2025, and the Panthers have already publicly noted that they will pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. So, Young will be under contract through at least the 2027 season. His longtime veteran backup, Andy Dalton, is entering the final year of his deal. Morgan hasn’t minced words when discussing his desire to add a younger QB behind Young. The Panthers are hoping to contend long term, and they’ll need to manage costs throughout the roster in order to retain their top-tier talent. Drafting a quarterback on Day 3 could provide the Panthers with a cost-effective backup for Young for years to come. That savings could then help them invest elsewhere. Dalton is guaranteed $2 million this season. If he were to be traded, the Panthers would save $4 million on the salary cap. That’s probably not enough savings to force a move, but given Morgan’s outlook on getting younger, it could lead to at least some consideration. Dalton, 38, could also be bounced if the Panthers decide to target it a younger journeyman QB in free agency. The backup quarterback spot has some offseason intrigue for the first time in a while. Offensive line Last time position was drafted by Panthers:G Chandler Zavala (fourth round, 2023) Impending free agents at the position: C Cade Mays, OT Yosh Nijman, G/C Austin Corbett, T/C Brady Christensen, G/T Jake Curhan   Current depth chart under contract: LT Ickey Ekwonu, LG Damien Lewis, C Nick Samac, RG Rob Hunt, RT Taylor Moton, Zavala, Ja’Tyre Carter, Joshua Gray, Saahdiq Charles The Panthers are set at three of their five starting positions on the offensive line. However, their outlooks at left tackle and center are certainly unenviable. Ekwonu ruptured his patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams last month. And despite being due $17.5 million in the final year of his rookie contract, Ekwonu might miss a good portion of the 2026 seasonfollowing a notable knee surgery.   Mays, the starting center, is set to become a free agent in March. While he’s played quite well over the past two years, the Panthers might need to pass on re-signing him to improve other positions on the open market. Mays was cut by Carolina in 2024 and lost the 2025 center battle to Corbett this past summer. So, there’s reason to believe the Panthers aren’t totally sold on him being a long-term answer, either. With all that said, both positions have quite a bit of fluidity. Having Hunt and Lewis at the guard spots might make Morgan feel better about putting a rookie at center in 2026. The same sentiment, though, probably can’t be said about left tackle, as the Panthers will want to reinforce Young’s blind side with Ekwonu shelved. Nijman is likely among the internal free agents who Morgan wants to re-sign, and if that pact happens, look for the Panthers to be patient at tackle in the draft. With Christensen, Curhan, Corbett, Nijman and Mays all set to hit the market, the Panthers are likely to have several new faces on the offensive line depth chart in training camp. The Panthers will probably make multiple moves in the trenches during free agency and the draft.   Selecting a long-term swing tackle with starter upside — especially with Ekwonu set to hit free agency in 2027 — seems inevitable.  
    • Making the playoffs as quickly as he did after what he inherited was impressive.  He inherited the worst team in the league with a depleted roster, missing draft picks, and a QB who just had a historically bad rookie season.  I mean it's hard to get much worse.  I wish he would hire someone to call plays because I think that's his weakness, but maybe he can get better there as he gets experience.
    • Sheesh.  If Bryce had won the Super Bowl, y'all woulda been like "He didn't win by enough. He missed that pass in the third quarter." fug it. We went to the playoffs, no matter how we got there and played a helluva game where we came up just a bit short of advancing. It's been a long time since we even made it to the post season for anything. But hey, keep punching yourself in the nuts because you think that's what you need to do. 
×
×
  • Create New...