Let’s take a look back on the Panthers 2024 trades, including Brian Burns, Jonathan Mingo, Diontae Johnson, and somehow fleecing the Seahawks for Michael Jackson.
The Panthers hired Dan Morgan as president of football operations and general manager on January 22, 2024. Morgan is a Panthers “lifer” after spending his seven-year NFL career in Charlotte from 2001 through 2007 then spending years in the Panthers front office. Let’s take a look back on Morgan’s trades during his rookie season at the helm.
March 13, 2024 – Traded OLB Brian Burns and a fifth-round pick (No. 166) to the New York Giants for a second-rounder (No. 39), a fifth-rounder (No. 141), and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
This is a difficult trade to evaluate less than 12 months later. This trade ultimately came down to how NFL talent evaluators answered this question: Is Brian Burns worth nearly $30 million per year?
In five seasons with the Panthers Burns averaged an outstanding 9.2 sacks per year. He earned two Pro Bowl nods. He was 26 years old and in his prime. He was coming off a good-but-not-great 2023 season with 50 tackles and eight sacks in 16 games. Carolina slapped the franchise tag on him in 2024 after failing to reach a long-term contract that worked for both sides.
Dan Morgan and the Panthers front office likely saw Burns as a very good player. Burns wanted to be paid like a great one.
Ultimately Morgan found a trade partner in the New York Giants and received a 2024 second round pick, a 2024 fifth-round pick swap, and a 2025 fifth rounder. The Giants, meanwhile, locked Burns up on a massive five-year, $141 million deal with $87.5 million guaranteed.
After one season, the Panthers look like they’re coming out on top of this trade.
In 2024 with the Giants Brian Burns had another good-but-not-great season with 71 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and 34 pressures over 17 games. PFF ranked Burns as the No. 20 edge rusher in the league. That’s a very good season and Burns is a very good player.
However, his $28.2 average annual salary is currently third highest among edge rushers. The Giants are paying for an All-Pro. They instead got a solid starter who didn’t make the Pro Bowl in 2024. This was the exact scenario the Panthers front office (and some fans) were worried about.
If Brian Burns would have put up something like 12 sacks and another Pro Bowl selection in his first season with the Giants, this trade would look very shortsighted right now. But as of today, the Panthers are probably better off with the second round pick and nearly $30 million in extra cap space per year to help the team rebuild.
Trade grade: B-
March 13, 2024 – Traded CB Donte Jackson and a sixth-round pick (No. 178) to Pittsburgh for WR Diontae Johnson and a seventh-round pick (No. 240)
And…
October 29, 2024 – Traded WR Diontae Johnson and a sixth-round pick to Baltimore for a fifth-round pick.
Everyone step on up and behold the wonders of the Diontae Johnson experience! What a wild ride. The Panthers traded for the mercurial wide receiver before the season, got seven productive games out of him, then traded him mid-season.
Let’s look at the net effect of trading for and then trading away the sixth-year veteran:
Panthers gave up: CB Donte Jackson, sixth-round pick, sixth-round pick
Panthers received: fifth-round pick, seventh-round pick,
In the initial trade Carolina was also able to move on from the oft-injured Donte Jackson who was in the last year of his contract and would have likely been released anyway for his $5.9 million in cap space savings. The end result of the Diontae Jackson fiasco was the Panthers ultimately turned two sixth round picks into a fifth and a seventh. That’s the NFL trade definition of “meh”.
Trade grade: C
August 22, 2024 – Traded LB Michael Barrett to Seattle for CB Michael Jackson
Dan Morgan made out like a smooth criminal in the Michael Jackson trade (pun intended!).
Michael Barrett was a 2024 seventh round pick by the Panthers and was traded to the Seattle Seahawks before the season began in exchange for Jackson, a sixth-year veteran.
Barrett was subsequently released by the Seahawks, then signed and released by the Cleveland Browns, then ultimately signed by the Green Bay Packers without appearing in a regular season game in 2024.
Jackson, meanwhile, started all 17 games for the Panthers, played over 1,200 snaps, and his 68.0 PFF grade ranked 45th of 116 corners. He racked up 76 tackles with 17 passes defended and two interceptions. Re-signing the 28-year-old Jackson should be one of Dan Morgan’s top priorities for 2025.
Trade grade: A
November 25, 2024 – Traded WR Jonathan Mingo and a seventh-round pick to Dallas for a fourth-round pick.
Another solid trade!
Mingo was a 2023 second round pick by the Panthers and struggled in his season and a half in Carolina. Through 15 games in his rookie season and nine games in 2024 Mingo had just 55 receptions for 539 yards and no touchdowns despite playing a lot of snaps. He caught just 49.5 percent of his targets and never clicked with quarterback Bryce Young.
After his mid-season trade to the Dallas Cowboys, Mingo played in eight games for Dallas with just five receptions (on 16 targets!) for 46 yards. The Cowboys found out what the Panthers already knew: Jonathan Mingo has a lot of developing to do before he’s a quality NFL player.
Meanwhile, the Panthers flipped a seventh-round pick into a fourth-rounder, which is solid value. Players picked in the seventh round rarely turn into contributors, while it’s not uncommon for fourth rounders to crack the 53-man roster, play special teams, and provide some decent depth. In recent years the Panthers have landed tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, guard Chandler Zavala, and running back Chuba Hubbard in the fourth round This was a solid trade for the Panthers since virtually nobody thought there was such a thing as a trade market for Jonathan Mingo.
Thanks Uncle Jerry!
Trade grade: A-
Summing it up
In the end, rookie GM Dan Morgan won three of his four trades (the Brian Burns, Michael Jackson, and Jonathan Mingo deals) and drew even with the Diontae Jackson trades. This is a solid outcome.
But let’s also give Morgan a few bonus points for what he didn’t do: Trade away any meaningful future draft assets!
Not bad for a rookie general manager.
Final trade grade: B+