We're crawling toward the start of a new league year, with a couple of trades getting things going. First the Jaguars sent A.J. Bouye to Denver. Then yesterday the Chargers and Panthers swapped a pair of veteran linemen. Making themselves better, or tanking? Debatable.
Carolina acquired Russell Okung from the Chargers for guard Trai Turner. Okung has been one of the league's better left tackles when healthy, while the Panthers have really struggled there the last two years -- Greg Little, Matt Kalil. Perhaps the idea is to have a strong blindside protector for an offense that allowed a league-high 58 sacks last year, and more hits on their quarterback than all but six teams.
| OFFENSIVE LINE PERFORMANCE, 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | Sacks | QB Hits |
| Oakland Raiders | 29 | 52 |
| New Orleans Saints | 25 | 58 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 28 | 59 |
| Cleveland Browns | 41 | 67 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 28 | 68 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 50 | 69 |
| Kansas City | 25 | 71 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 36 | 73 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 32 | 78 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 22 | 79 |
| Denver Broncos | 41 | 84 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 42 | 84 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 48 | 84 |
| Green Bay Packers | 36 | 85 |
| Chicago Bears | 45 | 86 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 23 | 87 |
| Buffalo Bills | 40 | 87 |
| New England Patriots | 28 | 90 |
| Detroit Lions | 43 | 92 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 34 | 93 |
| Houston Texans | 49 | 93 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 32 | 95 |
| Washington | 50 | 97 |
| Tennessee Titans | 56 | 99 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 37 | 100 |
| Carolina Panthers | 58 | 102 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 47 | 106 |
| New York Jets | 52 | 106 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 48 | 111 |
| New York Giants | 43 | 119 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 50 | 136 |
| Miami Dolphins | 58 | 147 |
The argument against that rationale is that Okung is 31 years old and in the final year of his deal. So this may be a case of a salary dump by Carolina, which will have Okung off the books a year from now. Contrast that with Turner, who's one of the league's best guards, 26 years old, and under contract for the next two seasons.
So while Carolina is getting the more marquee position of left tackle, the Chargers are getting the younger, better player who's under team control for the next two seasons. Hmm.
What Carolina ultimately decides to do with Cam Newton will be a sign of the team's 2020 plans: competing, or tanking. If they bring him back, which seems to be the current guess, they're maybe hoping Okung makes the overall line better and the team competes for a playoff spot.
If they ship him out and embark on a Kyle Allen-Will Grier quarterback competition, the tank for the 2021 NFL Draft may well be on.
As for the Chargers, who can't afford a non-competitive season, at least an intentional one, this deal should make their line better (although they'll need to figure out a left tackle solution). I think the idea that they're going with Tyrod Taylor as their starter at quarterback is laughable; they're either going hard after a free agent, or hoping to draft one early in the first round and chuck him into the lineup.
In other news, the players are apparently voting on the proposed CBA. Once that's complete, if it passes, there might be a flurry of additional trades, cuts and other activity. Stay tuned.
--Andy Richardson