Could the Carolina Panthers be in the market to trade for a familiar star NFL pass rusher?

The Panthers have the Jets in town for a preseason game. Now might be a good time to talk about a potential game-changing trade.

Tim Weaver | Aug 16, 2024

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 31: Haason Reddick #43 of the Carolina Panthers lines up before a play during an NFL game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 31, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. / (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

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Carolina Panthers

WIth less than a month to go before the NFL's 2024 regular season begins, teams are now in crunch time when it comes to making any last-minute upgrades and changes to their roster. At the moment the most aggressive team in the league is the NFC South rival Falcons, who have added two big pieces to their defense the last few days. First, they traded for the Patriots' Pro Bowl edge rusher Matt Judon, then they followed it up by signing Justin Simmons, the top free agent defensive back remaining on the market.

If the Panthers want to keep pace with the team that's the favorite to win the division this year, they'll have to make a move or two themselves. One such opportunity is already in town. Back at the beginning of April, the Eagles traded edge rusher Haason Reddick to the Jets. It seems nobody bothered to ask Reddick if he wanted to go, because now he's requested to get traded again.

The Jets are already in Charlotte following yesterday's joint practice and ahead of tomorrow night's preseason game, which means the Panthers have an inside track opportunity to try to pull off a deal for one of the league's most underrated edge rushers.

Reddick began his career as an inside linebacker with the Cardinals and wasn't anything special. However, he exploded in his fourth year when he moved outside to the edge, posting 12.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits. That was enough to get him a one-year deal with the Panthers, and he followed up with another strong year in 2021, totaling 11 sacks and 18 quarterback hits for Carolina. However, he left the following year for the Eagles as the Panthers didn't have the room to re-sign him.

That same issue might be the thing that stops the Panthers from getting him now. At the moment they only have around $6.38 million in cap room left for the 2024 season, according to Over the Cap. That's not enough to add Reddick, who has a base salary of $14.25 million in this the last year on his current contract. However, if Carolina could get the Jets to pay a large portion of that deal it'd be worth cutting another player or two to make room for Reddick.

For now, Jadeveon Clowney is the only proven outside pass rusher on the roster - and Reddick is likely the best upgrade they can get before the season begins. The clock is ticking.