The Carolina Panthers must continue upgrading the offense around quarterback Bryce Young, as the team retained veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen on a reworked contract and is banking on 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette having a breakout 2025 campaign.
Though the Panthers have a few young playmakers with potential, including Legette, Jalen Coker, and Ja’Tavion Sanders, the offense lacks a reliable and proven pass catcher for Young outside of Thielen. Instead of searching free agency to address the need, David Latham of Last Word on Sports believes Carolina should pull off a blockbuster trade for Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews.
Carolina Panthers fourth-round pick Ja’Tavion Sanders had a promising rookie season and showed flashes of brilliance. However, they were too few and far between for the team to fully trust him in 2025. The Panthers have several high-risk, high-reward youngsters, and it wouldn’t hurt them to add a proven veteran to ensure some stability for quarterback Bryce Young. The Ravens would probably prefer to trade Mark Andrews to an NFC team, and Young could use the veteran reliability as he builds on his strong finish to 2024.
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec revealed on Mar. 16 that the Ravens could trade Andrews, as the franchise would save $11 million by moving on from the star tight end and incur a dead cap charge of $5.9 million, per Over the Cap.
“Mark Andrews’ $4 million roster bonus triggered on 5th day of new league yr, which technically was between 4 pm Sat. and 4 p.m. today. Ravens picked it up, which isn’t surprising. They were never going to release Andrews. Could they trade him? Perhaps, but would take legit offer,” Zrebiec tweeted.
If Baltimore places Andrews on the trade block, the Panthers should look to acquire the three-time Pro Bowler. Though Andrews’ performance in the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills was abysmal, the veteran did have a solid 2024 campaign, posting a career-high 11 receiving touchdowns with 55 receptions and 673 yards. Andrews would be a fantastic security blanket for Young and bring some playoff experience to Carolina’s offense.
The Panthers have five picks within the first four rounds of April’s draft. General manager Dan Morgan should look to trade one of the team’s Day 2 or early Day 3 selections to the Ravens and add Mark Andrews to the offense. The former All-Pro has been one of the most productive tight ends in football since he entered the league in 2018 and would take Carolina’s promising offense to the next level.
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