Why the Panthers didn't join the NFL trade deadline frenzy

Last year, the Carolina Panthers made a few trades, parting ways with Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Mingo, namely. This year, they've done nothing. Huge names, like Quinnen Williams, Sauce Gardner, Jaelan Phillips, and Jakobi Meyers all got moved, but the Panthers pretty much sat this one out.

It's not all that surprising, since most of the reporting leading into the deadline said not to expect any huge blockbusters. It's been a while since the Panthers have been in position to make those sorts of deals, but here's why they didn't this year.

The Panthers were too good to sell, not good enough to buy

Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) celebrates after catching an interception during a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Oct 19, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA. | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even as they sit a half-game out of the playoffs, the Carolina Panthers have no illusions about who they are. Jonathan Jones said it best, noting that the Panthers don't feel like they're one player away. Sauce Gardner or Quinnen Williams would've been incredible adds, but it's not worth it at this stage.

The Panthers know they're building something in Charlotte, but they also know they aren't one player away at the deadline https://t.co/UUfaoXCszT pic.twitter.com/gwtoF9VtZl
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) November 4, 2025

The Panthers are taking the slow approach to this rebuild. They're slowly accumulating draft picks and getting players in the draft, and it's paying off. They're 5-4 now and no one expected that, but they can't rush it from here.

The inverse is that they were too good to do what the Jets, for example, did. They have Derrick Brown, a DPOY candidate this year, and Jaycee Horn, one of the best corners in football. If the Jets got three first-round picks for their similar players, the Panthers could've made out nicely.

However, those two players are too vital to the team that is actually improving. They need Horn and Brown badly if they're going to continue on this upward trajectory. They're in the middle, which is usually a sort of purgatory, but when you've been at the bottom, the middle feels like the top.

So Panthers fans may have felt like they could've jumped in on the wild trade deadline frenzy, but GM Dan Morgan is smarter than that. The Panthers stood pat because they were too good to sell their top assets and not quite good enough to go all in. As boring as today was, it's a pretty good sign for the future.

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