Re-signing Moore to a one-year deal is the kind of move that teams at this level should be making in July, not in the middle of March when there’s still a ton of high-end talent on the market. Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs may be on the wrong side of 30, coming off injuries and trading mostly on their name power at this point, but they’re also a hell of a lot better than the guys on the back end of Carolina’s rotation.
The hard truth about this group is that it’s not nearly as good as the team seems to believe. Adam Thielen is underrated as a WR1 but he’s also at the point in his career where he seriously considers retiring every offseason. Xavier Legette was a pretty big disappointment as a rookie and the guy who’s actually the second-best wide receiver on the roster is an undrafted free agent with less than 500 career snaps played.
That mean even if the Panthers think Moore is worth bringing back for another year they should be involved in adding more firepower to this group, both veterans and potential 2025 draft picks.
This trade proposal isn’t going to move the needle much, either. Anthony Palacios at Last Word on Sports has named the Panthers as one of three potential trade partners for Kendrick Bourne from the New England Patriots.
“For the Panthers, it’s going to be interesting how quarterback Bryce Young develops. Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker are two promising but unproven playmakers who have a lot of games to be a deciding factor for Young’s potential. If Head Coach Dave Canales wants to avoid another bench, the team should put Young in the best position with more experienced pass catchers..”
As uninspiring as trading for Bourne might be, it would also be very much on-brand for this organization. Despite having precious little real competition at his position, Bourne has never posted more than 800 yards or five touchdowns in a single season. Last year Bourne managed just 28 catches, 305 yards and one score in 12 games.
Bourne does have the size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) that the Panthers seem to like, though – and if you don’t know that your pass-catching group is one of the worst in the league then this is exactly the kind of move you make to “upgrade” the unit.
Hopefully Carolina’s utter lack of interest in a very deep free agent class of wide receivers is just an elaborate smoke-screen to hide their zest for going all out to improve Bryce Young’s skill group during the NFL draft. By now Panthers fans have learned not to hold their breath, though.
