A.J. Brown, Myles Garrett Trades Help Ease Carolina Panthers' Painful Schedule

There were two major trades on Monday involving two teams that happen to be on Carolina's 2026 schedule. So what does that really mean for Dave Canales’s club?

Dec 28, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) looks to receive a pass in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Football fans and many members of the sports media simply love the annual release of the NFL schedule. Some dive in with both hands and dissect each club’s 17-game slate. And wait, then come the predictions. There’s a win here, a three-game losing streak there, a strong finish or a season-ending slump.

Of course, it’s all in good fun. But keep in mind that in a league where we saw seven new division winners a year ago from 2024, and teams like the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots won division titles (the Pats reached Super Bowl LX) after finishing last in their respective divisions the previous season.

The Carolina Panthers’ 2026 schedule looks formidable on paper

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Which brings us to the reigning NFC South champion Carolina Panthers and their upcoming slate for 2026. Dave Canales’s improving squad rebounded from a 5-12 campaign in his first season with the franchise, finished 8-9, and claimed the club’s first division title since the Panthers’ Super Bowl 50 season in 2015.

Because they won the NFC South, Carolina was awarded the dreaded first-place schedule. If you go by the team’s combined opponents’ record and winning percentage from 2025, Canales and company will face the 10th-hardest schedule (.522) in the league this year—at least on paper.

Let’s take a look at the Panthers’ first five games. Canales’s club host the NFC North champions Bears, travel to Atlanta and to Cleveland, respectively, on consecutive Sundays. There’s a Week 4 Sunday night clash with the Detroit Lions at Charlotte, a week off, and a trip to Philadelphia in Week 6.

The NFL trade market was red hot on Monday

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Interesting. Now who knows what some of these so-called experts had Bryce Young and company faring six weeks into the season? Here’s what we do know. That Week 3 appearance in Cleveland now features a Browns’ team minus the 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. And that trip north to the City of Brotherly Love features an Eagles’ club now without one of the top wide receivers in the league.

Yes, the Panthers’ 2026 schedule took on a bit of different look on Monday afternoon following two big-time trades. The Los Angeles Rams acquired defensive end Myles Garrett from the Browns for two-time Pro Bowler Jared Verse, a first-round pick in 2027, a second-round choice in 2028, and a third-round selection in 2029.

But wait, there’s more. The Patriots took wideout A.J. Brown off the Eagles’ hands for a 2028 first-round pick, and a fifth-rounder in 2027.

Is the Panthers’ schedule this season suddenly easier?

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So Canales’s team will face a Browns’ club without Garrett, and a Philadelphia team minus Brown. Does this mean that Young and the Panthers can now chalk up two road victories because of those departures? Of course not. But it is worth remembering that there are a lot of days between May 14 and September 9. And who knows what’s yet to come before the NFL kicks things off on a Thursday night in Seattle a little over three months from now.