The Carolina Panthers could turn their fourth-string tight end, who is currently inactive, into a starting cornerback, according to Ben Solak of ESPN. In his recent column, Solak projected the Chicago Bears trading a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Panthers for tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders.
He notes that the Bears’ desperation at tight end could make a deal happen.
“Sanders has been a healthy scratch in Carolina for much of the season despite his draft status as a 2024 fourth-round selection,” wrote Solak. “He is buried on the depth chart behind Tommy Tremble, Darren Waller and the direly underrated Mitchell Evans, but still has some YAC skills. The Bears lost Cole Kmet for the season because of a major knee injury, and though Sanders shares none of Kmet’s skill set, he gives them another option at TE3 behind Colston Loveland and rookie third-round pick Sam Roush.”
In the very next note of his column, he projects Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson being traded to the Baltimore Ravens for a seventh-round pick.
“Jackson is a veteran corner on an 0-7 Chargers team with plenty of youth at the position (Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still),” noted Solak. “He’s in the last year of his contract, and he has taken only 113 snaps this season as he has been out because of a hamstring injury. I understand the Chargers reportedly don’t intend to trade many players, but c’mon! This one is obvious, right?”
While Solak projects Jackson to the Ravens, the Panthers are getting more back for Sanders than the Chargers are getting back for Jackson. So, if the Panthers wanted Jackson, it would be as simple as turning the pick they get from Sanders into the veteran cornerback who was drafted by Carolina.
Carolina Panthers Could Trade Ja’Tavion Sanders to Chicago Bears
Another option Solak did not mention would be turning Sanders into Tyrique Stevenson of the Bears. Stevenson is in the last year of his rookie deal. He started in Week 8, but is behind Jaylon Johnson and Malik Muhammad on the depth chart. When both are healthy, the Bears do not need him.
So, they could part ways with their benched cornerback in a trade for the Panthers’ benched tight end. It would be a win for both sides.
Panthers Need to Turn Tight End Excess into CB Help
Sanders is not going to pass Tremble, Evans, or Waller. Meanwhile, Carolina is down to their fourth and fifth options at cornerback. Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, and Akayleb Evans are all out.
Horn and Jackson are expected to be back in the coming weeks. However, the team can only rely on them so much given their injury histories. Beyond that, the need for depth at cornerback has shown more than the need for depth at tight end.
If they can add cornerback help and lose a player that is not in their plans, it is a huge win. This is an idea they might have to explore.
Panthers Could Turn Benched TE Into Starting CB