Getty Panthers WR DJ Moore runs after making a catch in a regular season game on October 9, 2022.
The Carolina Panthers became the first time in the league to fire their head coach before the end of the season when they relieved Matt Rhule of his duties despite having four years and $43 million left on his contract on October 10, 2022. After getting off to a 1-4 start and without a lot of capital in next year’s NFL Draft, they could be one of the top sellers ahead of the midseason trade deadline.
According to reports from FOX Sports, teams have already called them interested in the availability of fifth-year wide receiver D.J. Moore. The Baltimore Ravens were likely among them but they shouldn’t just be sniffing around the former first-rounder from Maryland because the Panthers have another talented wideout on their roster in seven-year veteran Robby Anderson could be available and command less in return to attain.
Both players have been linked to the Ravens for years dating back to the 2018 NFL Draft for Moore and back to his time with the New York Jets and when he originally hit free agency for Anderson. They had two different chances to take Moore in the first round that year after originally starting with the 16 overall selection then traded back to 22nd overall and again to 25th overall which ended up being one spot after he ended up getting picked by the Panthers.
Since coming into the league, Moore has been one of its most productive and promising young wide receivers despite having an underwhelming carousel of quarterbacks throwing him the ball on a team that has finished with a losing record in each of his first four seasons. According to Pro Football Reference, he has recorded over 1,100 yards and four touchdowns receiving in each of the last three seasons and just 17 receptions for 197 yards and one touchdown through five games this season so far and his quarterback play has been arguably the worst it’s been to date.
Will this be the year that D.J. Moore finishes as a top 12 WR?
I wish the Panthers offense wasn’t awful so we could talk about how good of a play this was from D.J. Moore.
While Anderson is just four years older than Moore at 29 years old, he is also the cheaper option of the two in terms of what it would take to acquire him via trade and what he owed on his remaining contract. Moore signed a three-year extension worth $61.8 million this offseason and will while his 2022 cap hit according to spotrac.com is just $6.1 million, that figure balloons to just north of $25 million in 2023 before going back down slightly to $20.9 million over the following two years. Anderson has a 2022 cap hit of $10.9 million that Carolina might likely have to pay more of in order to facilitate any trade and even though his 2023 cap hit is projected to be $21.7 million, per spotrac, he has a potential out in 2023.
Anderson leads the Panthers in receiving yards with 206 through the first five games according to Pro Football Reference. Even though that total isn’t very impressive, his 15.8 yards per reception is, especially since he only averages 7.6 yards per target. He still has the blazing speed to take the top off of opposing defenses and can take short and shallow routes to the house. If acquired, he’d be the most seasoned and accomplished wide receiver on the Ravens’ roster.
BAKER TO ROBBIE. 75 YARDS. #KeepPounding
📺: #CLEvsCAR on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/4gWBg2qtZo
Their top wideout, Rashod Bateman, is dealing with a foot injury that caused him to miss the team’s Week 5 divisional matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. This might prompt them to look to reinforce the position group for the long haul in case another receiver goes down or misses an extended time.
Devin Duvernay’s Role Continues to Expand
With Bateman out this past Sunday, the Ravens needed their other wide receivers already on the roster to step up. The third-year pro answered the call and more than rose to the occasion with a standout performance that could’ve been stellar if Lamar Jackson hadn’t overthrown him for what would’ve been a 49-yard touchdown.
Nevertheless, he finished second on the team and first among the team’s wide receivers in receptions and receiving yards with five catches for 54 yards. He added 24 rushing yards on three carries to bring his scrimmage total to 78 yards on eight touches. The most exciting aspect of Duvernay’s impressive outing where he made several clutch plays for key conversions was the creative ways in which he was used.
Ravens’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman truly unlocked his fabled vault with the way he lined him up and got the ball in his hands in a multitude of ways. All three of Duvernay’s carries came on designed runs that resulted in five or more yards, two picked up first downs, and the almost ended in disaster after it bounced off his arm on an errant snap but he picked it up and ran for 12 yards. He lined up in the backfield on his second and picked up seven yards to move the chains.
Devin Duvernay making something out of nothing! 😳
“He’s kind of taken steps every week, it seems like,” Harbaugh said in a press conference on October 10, 2022. “He’s really impacting games now in a big way. He’s still doing in the return game, but in the passing game, coming up with plays and running the ball, part of the read option game. He’s doing a lot of great stuff for us.”
After earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2021 as a returner, the 2020 third-round pick out of Texas is emerging as a dangerous multi-dimensional all-purpose weapon that opposing teams have to account for and gameplan against in two of the three phases of the game each week.
Duvernay humbly downplayed his performance and reiterated his desire to do whatever it takes and what is asked of him to give the offense and team overall the best chance to succeed.
“I mean, it was good,” he said in a postgame press conference on October 9, 2022. “I’m just continuing to build, continuing to get better. [I want to] continue to figure out ways to help this team win.”
Ravens Copying Packers Plan With Ronnie Stanley
The 2019 First-Team All-Pro made his long-awaited return to the lineup from a major injury against the Bengals on Sunday and started but didn’t finish the game. He played just 22 snaps which were 34 percent of the Ravens’ 65 total offensive snaps in the game.
“He anchored really well,” Harbaugh said. “That was important with the ankle to see that and I thought he was going to do that because he did it in practice.”
The team appears to be easing him back into action using a similar ramp-up plan to the Green Bay Packers have been using with their two-time First-Team All-Pro David Bakhtiari. They’ve rotated him with their backup left tackle, Yosuah Nijman, for the past three weeks since he made his own long-awaited return from a major injury.
Stud utility lineman Patrick Mekari rotated with Stanley each drive in the first half this past Sunday, played the entire fourth quarter, and played well overall in 43 snaps which were the remaining 66 percent of the total offensive snaps at left tackle.
“That was the plan,” Harbaugh said in a postgame press conference on October 9, 2022. “We had a certain rotation planned, and they stuck to it throughout the whole game. Pat Mekari deserves a lot of credit, [and] the rest of the offensive line, too.”
He was admittedly frustrated about not being in the game late and especially on the final drive but has the utmost faith in Mekari to hold down the fort when they substitute him from drive to drive or for entire quarters.
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Ravens Might Explore Trading For One of Panthers’ Top Wide Receivers