The in-plain-sight clue came from a comment Panthers owner David Tepper made in the All or Nothing season that focused on his football team. Tepper was determined to make what he believed to be upgrades at the three key positions that determine success or failure of a football team: coach, G.M., and quarterback.
“This league is set to be an 8-8 league,” Tepper said in the Amazon series. “Everything is fair in this league. So if you have better coaches, better GM’s, some advantages with facilities, advantages with the training, management process, whatever those, whatever it is, you know, analytics, whatever that is to give you an edge, that’s what you need. And you need a good quarterback.”
The Panthers have over the past 13 months hired a new coach and a new G.M. They are now looking to get the “good quarterback” Tepper covets.
The fact that the Panthers tried to get Matthew Stafford proves that they’re determined to get a franchise-level guy. The Panthers have now reportedly pivoted to Deshaun Watson. And if the Panthers can’t get Watson, they’ll surely pivot somewhere else.
Whether it’s to Seattle and Russell Wilson or to Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers or to Minnesota and Kirk Cousins or to the Raiders and Derek Carr, the Panthers seem to be on the front end of a scorched-earth effort to get a franchise quarterback.
And if all else fails, they can try to make the Jaguars an offer they can’t refuse for Trevor Lawrence.