Why the Carolina Panthers have leverage in any Adam Thielen-Minnesota Vikings trade scenario

The Carolina Panthers have the player the Minnesota Vikings really want, which naturally gives them some leverage. The teams that have the player in these situations most often do, with the only exception being a trade request, which Thielen hasn't made.

There seems to be some hangup over draft compensation, which isn't all that surprising. The Vikings don't want to overpay for a somewhat expensive salary that the Panthers literally just raised and a 35-year-old nearing retirement with one year left on his deal.

The Panthers, on the other hand, don't want to give up someone who will at worst be their WR2 this year and will be crucial for Bryce Young's continued development, which is why they should not yield to Minnesota.

In these situations, the worst-case scenario for the team with the player is often that said player isn't traded and then walks in free agency, bringing back nothing for the team. However, while that might be "the worst" outcome, it's definitely not a bad one for Carolina. There are no bad outcomes for the Panthers.

If they keep Thielen, all they get is a guy who's been excellent for them for two seasons and has developed great chemistry with their developing QB. They get one more season of that to help usher Bryce Young to a new level before Thielen probably retires. That's totally normal.

They could also keep Thielen until the trade deadline, at which point he'd have slightly less value but a whole lot more demand. Other teams would also be in on the WR trade market, thus driving the price up some.

They can trade Thielen for draft compensation knowing that they won't have him beyond this season anyway, but since the above scenarios are plausible and positive for Carolina, they have zero incentive to move him for a return they don't like.

Ultimately, Thielen was not a trade candidate, so the offer from Minnesota has to be good enough to change Dan Morgan and the rest of the front office's mind. So far, that hasn't happened, and a ton of the mock trades don't have good returns, either.

The Vikings want to give up pretty low draft compensation for a player they desperately need right now and a player the Panthers have zero reason to trade. That gives the Panthers every bit of leverage, a rarity that they should take full advantage of.