{"id":306860,"date":"2025-08-21T21:19:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T21:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/306860\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T21:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T21:19:10","slug":"panthers-chargers-connected-in-possible-blockbuster-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/306860\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers, Chargers Connected in Possible Blockbuster Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Carolina Panthers could use the depth in the quarterback department, they could target the Chargers\u2019 third-string starter, Taylor Henicke, in a possible trade. According to a report<\/a>, the source believes a reunion could happen between Heinicke and the Panthers since they\u2019re struggling to find a reliable backup for Bryce Young. Veteran Andy Dalton<\/a> has looked rough in the preseason and went down with an injury, so he could be missing some time. The Panthers don\u2019t have anyone other than him since third-string Jack Plummer looked Horrendous as well, and former UFL talent Bryce Perkins might not make the roster. It\u2019s easy to see why the Panthers could target a quarterback in a trade for depth, as they don\u2019t want to risk the idea of having one signal-caller alone in the depth chart.<\/p>\n

As confident as the Panthers are in Young, anything in the league can happen. Even if Dalton comes back, they\u2019re better off investing in another quick option. However, it\u2019s hard to imagine they\u2019ll trade for Heinicke given his preseason performance and getting outplayed by Trey Lance. He\u2019s a cut candidate<\/a> for this upcoming 2025 regular season, so teams like the Panthers are going to wait until he becomes a free agent, as they wouldn\u2019t want to risk any draft picks for a veteran who is depleting.<\/p>\n

Here are four other potential suitors for Heinicke.<\/p>\n

\"ChargersJul 21, 2025; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) at training camp at The Bolt. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
\nPanthers, Chargers Connected in Possible Taylor Heinicke Trade
\nOther Possible Suitors
\nWashington Commanders<\/p>\n

After re-signing Marcus Mariota this offseason<\/a>, the Washington Commanders aren\u2019t in the market for a backup quarterback, but it\u2019d be nice for them to reunite with Henicke. He wasn\u2019t a bad signal-caller when he had the chance by any means before losing his job to Sam Howell a few years ago. Henicke might be aging, but this is something the Commanders could use as he has the experience to continue to develop Jayden Daniels<\/a>. Since the Commanders have their guy, it\u2019s always best to surround him with enough experienced players, especially if they want to win a Super Bowl sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, backup Joe Milton<\/a> has been looking atrocious this preseason. He was never going to take Dak Prescott\u2019s job unless he suffered an injury or continued to be inconsistent. The Cowboys might be better off with a veteran while Milton develops, and even though Heinicke is winding down in his career, he could be a viable mentor for this group.<\/p>\n

New Orleans Saints<\/p>\n

Even though the New Orleans Saints will likely stick with Spencer Rattler<\/a> as their primary quarterback, they will still need a reliable backup. It\u2019s hard to imagine that Tyler Shough has a role in this offense anymore due to his poor performance. After failing to draft Shedeur Sanders in the draft, the Saints should at least take a chance on a veteran like Heinicke to be ready for the moment if the team loses Rattler.<\/p>\n

Baltimore Ravens<\/p>\n

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but even the best need some help. Cooper Rush has looked horrible this preseason<\/a>, so they could be looking to part ways with him earlier than expected despite just signing him. Heinicke won\u2019t start for Baltimore, but he might have a better result with the Ravens than Rush.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Carolina Panthers could use the depth in the quarterback department, they could target the Chargers\u2019 third-string…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[849,1476,2584,241,5403,1370,436,7,734,895,1014,262,2453,2444,2443,401,6,5405,10420,6211,2720,10421],"class_list":{"0":"post-306860","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-baltimore-ravens-news","9":"tag-bryce-young","10":"tag-carolina-panthers-news","11":"tag-chargers","12":"tag-chargers-featured","13":"tag-dak-prescott","14":"tag-dallas-cowboys-news","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-jayden-daniels","17":"tag-lamar-jackson","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","20":"tag-los-angeles-chargers-news","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-losangeleschargers","23":"tag-new-orleans-saints-news","24":"tag-nfl","25":"tag-panthers-featured","26":"tag-ravens-featured","27":"tag-saints-featured","28":"tag-taylor-heinicke","29":"tag-washington-commanders-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}