Some LA Rams rumors suggest team may still be shopping at trade deadline

Scenario I: Why would or wouldn't the Panthers do this?

The Carolina Panthers invested the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to acquire rookie QB Bryce Young. There is no possible way that the Panthers recover that investment, or anything close to it. The precedence for this type of trade is the Dallas Cowboys trading a Round 4 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to acquire tarnished QB Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers. But to be fair, Lance was selected with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Panthers would love to exchange QB Bryce Young for picks and or players that could comprise elements of a successful rebuild. And a young promising quarterback does not tarnish so easily while still on his rookie contract.

But therein lies the rub. What value can anyone agree to assign to a player whose value is inflated on paper, and yet diminishes rapidly on a football field? Even if the Panthers agree to a deep discount, almost no scenario has anything of value in return to help them out now. And so, they are incentivized to sit tight and let Young's value increase over time thanks to speculation.

Scenario I: Why would or wouldn't the Rams do this?

Yes, the Rams are a team with a senior veteran quarterback driving the offense. But if this team hesitates to use rookie RB Blake Corum because he is not 'proven' yet, you can bet that the team is a hundred-fold more hesitant to place any hope or value in a rookie QB who is struggling, and anoint him as the future franchise of the team.

The Rams are certainly in a pickle. The need for a successor for veteran QB Matthew Stafford is certainly tangible right now. And the matter cannot simply be ignored in the hopes that looking away will solve the matter. But the team cannot simply buy any and every out-of-favor NFL quarterback just because. The Rams need a proven asset, and would only entertain adding a tarnished veteran if the situation was indeed dire.

Scenario I - Grade the Trade

As much as I would love the Rams to solve the Rubik's cube riddle of who will take over for Matthew Stafford, the team had already invested a Round 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to select QB Stetson Bennett. And I sincerely doubt the team would be willing to invest much more in a quarterback who has not hacked in in the NFL yet.

Even Kristopher Knox acknowledges that it would take a strong offer to shake the Panthers loose from their no-trade stance. Don't look for any strong offers from the Rams right now.

Perhaps that changes if the team adds a coach or NFL executive who has first-hand knowledge of Young, and vouches for him. Otherwise, I can't see this scenario gaining any traction.

Grade: F - Failure