Could the Carolina Panthers soon chip off another piece of their 2024 draft class?
With this year's trade deadline just a few weeks away, FOX Sports has named the top trade candidate for each of the NFL's 32 teams. For the Panthers, they tab third-year tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders—who has yet to register a single regular-season snap here in 2026.
Greg Auman writes:
With injuries all over, the Panthers are more likely to make an addition than to take away from a team they see as still in strong contention to repeat as NFC South champs. But if they can get a seventh for Sanders, it’s a win. He’s been a healthy scratch so far this season after totaling 62 catches for 532 yards and two scores in his first two years in Carolina. Find a contender who has an injury at tight end, and he can add depth and is on his rookie deal for one more year as well.
As Auman notes, Sanders has not been active in any of the team's five games thus far. He's taken a backseat in what's become a rather functional tight end room that features Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, Darren Waller and special teams ace Feleipe Franks.
Sanders' inactivity isn't much of a shocker. After struggling to make a statement during the summer, the former fourth-round pick became the subject of trade rumors prior to the start of the season.
Through his prior two pro campaigns, Sanders totaled 62 receptions for 532 yards and two touchdowns.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Fading pass catcher named Panthers' top trade candidate ahead of deadline