The NFL’s official roster cut-down deadline is just days away. Every team in the league, including the Carolina Panthers, is going to have some tough calls to make as they attempt to trim their roster down to the mandatory 53-man roster. One of those tough calls for the Panthers is what to do with former second-round wide receiver Terrace Marshall.
Marshall was taken in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the idea that he could develop into the team’s top wide receiver. That development never happened, and now Marshall has to face the very real possibility of getting cut by Tuesday’s deadline. Ahead of that cut, however, it appears that the Panthers are trying to get whatever return they can for the former LSU product, rather than cutting him outright.
According to reports from The Athletic’s Carolina Panthers beat writer Joseph Person, the team has been shopping Marshall to teams needing a wide receiver to gauge interest. If the Panthers can get some draft capital back for a player they were going to cut anyway, that would obviously be a significant boon for the team. But why would a team trade for a player who’s bound to be cut, and who are some teams that may be interested?
The first question is one that comes up every year around this time, and the primary answer is competition. If you trade for a player, you’re only competing against maybe one or two teams interested. However, if that player hits the open market, you may find yourself competing with a handful of other teams. If you want your guy, a late-round pick to another team to ensure you get him is a small price to pay.
As for the teams who may be interested in trading for Marshall, Person speculates that the Buffalo Bills could be one. They have a connection to Marshall already, with offensive coordinator Joe Brady having been one of his coaches at LSU, and a person who advocated for the Panthers to draft him when Brady was in Carolina. Buffalo has taken flyers on several veteran receivers, so they could have interest in bringing in a younger veteran who may still have some promise and just needs a change of scenery.
Another team who could be in the market for Marshall’s services is the Washington Commanders. Washington needs talented pass catchers around their new quarterback, Jayden Daniels, and they just traded Jahan Dotson to the Philadelphia Eagles. They are a team who could be looking to add a young player to the rotation in hopes that adding another LSU product to the fold will help ease Daniels’ transition to the NFL.
We’ll have to wait and see if anything materializes in the coming hours and days, but it’s certainly a situation to keep an eye on.