NFL pundit proposes Panthers trade for a real weapon at long-suffering position group

He never passed Rob Gronkowski for the TE1 title, but there was a time when there was no other tight end in the NFL better than Greg Olsen, who peaked during his time with the Carolina Panthers. Olsen is only human though and after the 2016 season injuries caught up with him and he was never quite the same playmaker again.

Unfortunately, that was also the last time the Panthers got respectable production at this position. In the years since they have invested precious few resources at tight end, and have gotten predictably poor results. Heading into training camp, Matt Holder at Bleacher Report says they should be looking to trade for a weapon at this spot.

"The Panthers' current tight ends leave something to be desired. While the hope is Ja'Tavion Sanders grows in year two, he wasn't the same after suffering a neck injury last season, catching just four passes for 40 yards in five games after getting hurt. So, it wouldn't be a bad idea to add someone to the position group as an insurance policy at the least."

To be fair, Carolina has put in fourth and fifth-round picks at tight end in their last two draft classes, respectively. However, the overall picture is still underwhelming and ESPN once again has this unit ranked one of the worst in the NFL going into the 2025 season.

The Panthers had the cap room to sign one of the few difference-makers who hit the open market this year, including Evan Engram and Juwan Johnson, but they both wound up signing elsewhere and as far as we know Carolina never even made an attempt.

That means at this late stage of the game a trade is their only real hope to land a proven veteran. If not, they'll have no choice but to rely on a big jump from Ja'Tavion Sanders and a rare rookie year from Mitchell Evans.