Could the Panthers Trade Up for Joe Burrow?
The first month of the off-season for the Carolina Panthers has been a wild ride to say the least. The craziness all began to unfold during the latter half of the season when the team decided to fire head coach Ron Rivera.
If Cam Newton trade rumors, Greg Olsen departing, a surprising retirement, and a fired coach isn’t enough to fill your plate with uncertainty, there could be more.
A few weeks ago, the Panthers decided to make a big splash on the coaching staff by hiring Joe Brady from LSU as the next offensive coordinator. Brady was a trending name for teams across college football and the NFL after he helped guide the LSU Tigers to winning the national championship this past season. What made him so intriguing for teams was the work he did with quarterback Joe Burrow. Last year, Mel Kiper Jr. graded him as a day three pick with a sixth round projection. Fast forward one year later and he’s now thought to be the number one overall pick. It’s crazy how much one year can do, right?
On his way to winning the Heisman Trophy and the national championship, Burrow threw for a staggering 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns, yes, sixty. With the Cincinnati Bengals expecting to take Burrow with the first overall pick, there has been growing uncertainty on how he feels about being a Bengal. His statement to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week has folks questioning if he really wants to be in Cincinnati.
"Look, this is a long process, right? [The Bengals] have their process that they have to go through, and I am so blessed to be in the position I'm in. If they select me, they select me, I'm going to do everything in my power to be the best football player I can be," Burrow said.
This kind of has an Eli Manning draft night feel to it, doesn't it? Some may think Burrow has "leverage", but like Stephen A. Smith of ESPN said, "How does Joe Burrow have any leverage? The Bengals have the first pick." He's right. Burrow doesn't hold any leverage whatsoever, but if the Bengals know they are getting a guy that doesn't truly want to be a part of the organization, why draft him? After his rookie contract runs out, you may be finding yourself back to square one trying to find a new quarterback.
With the wackiness of the situation, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah believes the Carolina Panthers will be tracking the situation.
"Before this story started to circulate and you saw the conversation the other day where he didn't flat out say 'yes I want to be a Cincinnati Bengal' those teams are keeping an eye on this situation because maybe there is an opportunity, if this takes place behind closed doors that he doesn't want to go to Cincinnati, maybe there is a trade up opportunity for those three teams (Miami, Los Angeles, Carolina). And obviously team No. 7, where Joe Brady is the offensive coordinator, his former offensive coordinator at LSU now with the Carolina Panthers, you better believe they're tracking this situation to see how this thing unfolds," Jeremiah said.
If the Panthers have interest in Joe Burrow, they know one thing - they'll have to sacrifice a kings ransom in order to get him. Cincinnati is in desperate need of a quarterback and if they feel that Burrow doesn't pose much of a difference from Justin Herbert, Jordan Love or any other first round quarterback, they could make the move. If a deal goes through with Carolina, you would imagine that Carolina would give up their No. 7 pick in addition to other 2020 picks for future draft picks. Cincinnati could still take a quarterback at No. 7 and in turn, get more picks by moving out of the number one slot.
Although Burrow and Joe Brady being together again makes sense, is it worth it? The offensive line was in shambles a year ago and you are in "rebuild" mode. Sacrificing the future of your team for one player is pretty hefty, so the Panthers better be confident in Burrow if they attempt to make the move up.
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