Panthers trade rumor should be of interest to Chiefs, Commanders, Browns

The Carolina Panthers have a pivotal season ahead.

Carolina shocked the world last season by winning the NFC South (granted, with an 8-9 record) a year after finishing with a subpar 5-12 record. In an ideal world, Bryce Young would continue to progress after temporarily silencing many of his doubters in 2025-26, and the Panthers would emerge as underrated NFC contenders. 

Interestingly, though, the Athletic’s Joseph Person believes that if things don’t go as planned early on, the Panthers could shake up their roster before the trade deadline.

“Now it’s fair to question whether (Xavier) Legette can hold on to the WR3 spot after Morgan selected Tennessee wideout Chris Brazzell in the third round and took a flier on John Metchie,” Person wrote Thursday.

“The eternally optimistic Canales still seems bullish on Legette figuring things out, but a disappointing start to the season could land him on the trading block by October.”

If Legette does become available during the 2026-27 season, the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, and Cleveland Browns should be somewhat interested in acquiring him in a mid-year deal.

The Chiefs are reportedly in the mix for Philadelphia Eagles star trade candidate A.J. Brown. However, if things go Kansas City's way and the franchise fails to pivot in time, they could be forced to start the year with a flawed receiving core.

Legette hasn’t been great with the Panthers through two seasons (84 receptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns). However, he would give Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs a physically and athletically gifted wideout who still has the potential to be an above-average receiver in the big leagues.

The same applies to the Commanders and Browns. Washington hasn’t done much to surround Jayden Daniels with more weapons outside of Terry McClaurin, and regardless of who starts at quarterback for Cleveland (Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders), they’ll need more reliable options to be successful in the highly competitive AFC North. 

Legette’s situation in Carolina should be closely monitored over the next few months.

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