Josina Anderson: Panthers NOT trading Adam Thielen

[Navy_football]

4 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

So, TL;DR: AT is all we can bank on right now. We couldn't afford to let him go considering the number of unknowns we'd be throwing out there for our QB, who himself is still an unknown.

This is it right here. This receiving group is getting way too much hype considering the unknowns and can't afford to lose the one proven guy on the roster. I could perhaps see letting David Moore go, but not AT.

2 rookies still learning the playback, and 2 second year guys that need to take a big step in development is not a group we can count on. And it's obvious that Renfrow still doesn't quite have his legs under him - or maybe this is his new norm? Unfortunately the 35 years old possession receiver is the only known we have. Well him and David Moore who I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the cut.

[kungfoodude]

3 hours ago, toldozer said:

They also have two guys that by all accounts they like to replace him in renfrow and horn. Thielen is just as likely to get hurt as Renfrow is and Id rather see what Renfrow can do this year so we can plan for the next 3 years with him in the slot or focus on Horn Jr if he can't hack it 

I don't know if that is actually true. I am guessing those are not part of the equation but perhaps more meaningful reps for guys like XL and Coker are.

[kungfoodude]

54 minutes ago, PadresPanthersFan said:

A lot of people imo are over valuing thielen. A 3rd round pick for a 35 year old wr 3/4 with 1 year on his contract and an injury history?

Getting a 4th for him would be a coup. We got a pretty good young qb for less ( that we wasted) 

I don't think it's overvaluing. He isn't a 4th rounder value either. It's just that we don't have to trade him and the return(a 4th) is never going to factor into a future player here. A 3rd might. A 2nd should.

The difference is that he is actually a real contributor here and also our best returning WR. That might be difficult to replace for 2025. 

[fanpanther]

I hope they keep at .  He has been a solid well above average wr for the panthers and if he is traded and byoung sucks this year will be an excuze everyone uses saying well he would have done well but they traded their best wr

[Mr. Scot]

"...if the Panthers are willing to take on some of Theilen's contract to facilitate the trade"

Yeah, lemme think about it

[kungfoodude]

27 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Let's be completely honest about this...

Our WR room is AT and a bunch of question marks. Thielen is the only guy we know who knows the route tree completely, understands play calls and can regularly get open/beat close coverage when necessary. He's long in the tooth, isn't the speediest guy on the field but he plays like a pro, starting level wide receiver.

Xavier, last season looked great at first, but man he kind of petered out down the stretch and would disappear in a number of games. He wasn't reliable on routes or getting open and where he was supposed to be a king at contested catches, he often looked a bit intimidated. I'm not saying he's a washout by any means. Anyone with his size, speed and catch radius could make it big in the NFL, but can he do it? He'll need to show more than he did in the preseason before we can really rely on him as a WR1 or WR2. 

Coker was a revelation last season, he really played way above his (non)draft status and flashed multiple times in games and was a steady performer. What we need to find out, though, is whether he was benefiting from being an unknown that wasn't getting maximum effort from opposing DBs or if he was just outworking and outhustling everyone on the field. We should find out this season. We sure as hell didn't find out much in the pre-season (from him or any receiver or QB for that matter). He's still a question mark, but I think he has the look of the real deal. He might be this generation's next Thielen.

Now, let's talk about Tet. High first round draft pick, first true WR off the board this year. Stellar career out west in college. Has the swagger of the WR1. And man, y'all are going to get mad about this but... he comes across as a mook. And in the pre-season he performed, well, not so great against poor opposition of second and third stringers. Yeah, he caught that one moonshot ball in the first game but really, nothing else lighting the place up. Rookie endzone drop in that game, too. He's still young and adjusting, I'm sure, but I was hoping to see something of a breakthrough kind of guy. I'm still looking.

Hunter Renfro? Gosh, I hope he can make the team and make a comeback to his old form. It would be such a great story. But maybe neither one of those happens. We won't know until Tuesday and then, if he makes it past there it could be weeks.

So, TL;DR: AT is all we can bank on right now. We couldn't afford to let him go considering the number of unknowns we'd be throwing out there for our QB, who himself is still an unknown.

One thing to add: Our receivers coaching group has their work cut out for them. I hope they are up to the task, but the pre-season gave me little reason to believe in them.

And I really need something to believe in here in Carolina.

 

Yeah, I think a lot of our fans are getting waaaaay too high on this WR corps. Until proven otherwise, AT is genuinely the best WR on this team by a fairly significant margin. 

We don't have to trade him and it doesn't help our roster in 2025 to do so. So the 4th round pick isn't very valuable. 

If this WAS a deep and proven WR corps, you jump all over that 4th in a heartbeat.

[Mr. Scot]

Also, to be clear, Anderson seems to be reporting this more from the Vikings side than ours.

[kungfoodude]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

"...if the Panthers are willing to take on some of Theilen's contract to facilitate the trade"

Yeah, lemme think about it

They can suck one. A 4th and eating part of the contract, blow me.

[MHS831]

The thing that some have implied here, one that I did not think about during my initial reaction, is that Bryce is entering his "make or break" season.   He has the OL, the running game, and the WRs.  No excuses, unless you give him some.

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

They can suck one. A 4th and eating part of the contract, blow me.

Yeah, likewise. Before I gave an answer to that, I'd take a moment to look up what words, phrases or gestures people in Minnesota find most offensive so I could be as insulting as possible.

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

The thing that some have implied here, one that I did not think about during my initial reaction, is that Bryce is entering his "make or break" season.   He has the OL, the running game, and the WRs.  No excuses, unless you give him some.

We are going to be bad this season, I don't think we are excaping that. With that in mind, priority #1 is figuring out if Bryce is "The Guy." Priority #2 probably doing the same with Ikey. So, dumping the most proven WR we have isn't gonna help #1, without any question.

It's possible this young WR corps pans out and pushes AT down the chart but if so, the total loss was a mid to late round 4th. Oh well.

[frankw]

For whatever one may feel about this situation it is interesting viewing other teams around the league like the Texans who already have two playoff wins the last two years operating much differently. The oldest WR on their roster is 29 and they just traded away a 24 year old WR for a player and a pick. We don't have to like it but from a neutral perspective it is worth pondering if the Panthers are continuing to move like a losing franchise.

[kungfoodude]

7 minutes ago, frankw said:

For whatever one may feel about this situation it is interesting viewing other teams around the league like the Texans who already have two playoff wins the last two years operating much differently. The oldest WR on their roster is 29 and they just traded away a 24 year old WR for a player and a pick. We don't have to like it but from a neutral perspective it is worth pondering if the Panthers are continuing to move like a losing franchise.

They also have a roster stacked with tremendously more talent than ours.

[frankw]

Just now, kungfoodude said:

They also have a roster stacked with tremendously more talent than ours.

Eh. Ultimately they got abused badly when they faced a more stout contender in the Ravens last year. I watched that one and while they have made improvements to that roster it's still a work in progress. And ultimately they are an injury or two away from tough predicaments like any other team. And they have dealt with that along the way.

And let's consider that for a moment. For so long now we've used injuries or lack of depth as an  excuse for bad football. But there are other teams out there that while they might stumble a bit they don't utimately fall down a flight of stairs to the cellar because of it. Our Panthers however? Well you know.