Carolina Panthers wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. has gone from a breakout candidate to a left-out one in a span of just a year. And now, he might be on the way out at some point this season.
That’s the thinking from Pro Football Focus salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger, who listed Marshall Jr. as one of nine early-season trade targets this week. Spielberger believes Marshall Jr., especially with Sunday’s emergence of another recent second-round receiver, may no longer have a place in Carolina.
“Marshall was a healthy scratch in Week 3 and is squarely in the doghouse in Carolina it appears, as the team got Laviska Shenault Jr. up to speed and on the field after acquiring him via trade before Marshall even took his first snap this season,” he writes. “Marshall was a second-round draft pick just last season, but his NFL career has hardly gotten off the ground thus far, and unlike with Denzel Mims and the Jets, it’s not due to the fact Carolina is loaded with pass-catchers. In fact, the opposite is true, which makes his lack of usage all the more concerning.”
Despite an eye-opening preseason to his rookie campaign, Marshall Jr. didn’t move the needle in 2021—amassing just 138 receiving yards over 17 catches. Unfortunately, that needle remains untouched by the 22-year-old, who has recorded six more snaps than he has targets thus far in 2022. (He has zero targets.)
Spielberger then suggests the Panthers could trade the 2021 draftee to the receiver-needy Green Bay Packers for a 2024 fifth-round pick.
“The Packers would have to convince themselves that a change of scenery would jumpstart Marshall’s pro career, getting him back to looking like a guy who could hang with Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase as the youngest of the dynamic LSU wide receiver trio in 2019,” he adds. “Here, they give up a fifth-round pick despite very little production thus far for Marshall because there are still three years remaining on his rookie contract.”
Oh, and it’s also worth noting that the piece suggests the Panthers trade for New York Jets wideout Denzel Mims. Hey, at least he already knows the guy who runs the place.
