5 Moves I Would Make If I Was the Carolina Panthers GM

The Panthers have had a good offseason, but there are still moves I would make.

Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Carolina Panthers GM Dan Morgan has had a really good offseason. He's been busy trying to build the Panthers into a legitimate contender instead of a surprising playoff team. He believes their time is now, and he went after it in such a manner.

It is highly unlikely that he will do anything else at this stage, but if I were the GM of the Panthers, there are a couple of moves I would make as training camp heats up in advance of the forthcoming preseason.

Trade Xavier Legette for a late-round pick

It's easy to understand why Xavier Legette hasn't been given up on. He's Dan Morgan's guy, the first first-round pick he made by himself. But a good GM can admit fault on a move and recoup some value. Legette being gone would bring an end to this saga and some draft pick while opening up reps for Chris Brazzell II and Jimmy Horn Jr.

Cut Tommy Tremble and sign Jonnu Smith

At this point, Tommy Tremble may be better than Jonnu Smith, but as GM, I'd be willing to take the risk that Smith will be better. And if not, I would be just fine rolling with Mitchell Evans and Ja'Tavion Sanders. If either one is going to pan out, they need to be on the field a ton, so the worst-case scenario is giving them more snaps.

Sign Devin Bush

The Panthers have improved their linebacker corps, but it's still very thin. Devin Lloyd is elite. Trevin Wallace is a question mark. Everyone else is bad. Signing Devin Bush would be a low-risk high-reward signing, as he could end up being as bad as the rest of them (so nothing lost) or a really great addition to the defense.

Trade for Budda Baker

The Arizona Cardinals would probably be happy to snag some draft assets for Budda Baker, and he'd fill a need for the Panthers in the short term. The team has Lathan Ransom and Zakee Wheatley, but why not let Baker mentor them while giving the Panthers a good safety while those two develop?

Sign Cam Robinson

The injury to Taylor Moton leaves Carolina's tackle room thin. They had the depth to withstand it, but now they don't have depth. Moton and Ikem Ekwonu are out for the foreseeable future, and Stone Forsythe is not viable. Signing Cam Robinson could give them a much-needed body in the case of an emergency.