Right now, a trade <\/a>isn’t imminent, but that’s seemingly because the team still believes in him<\/a>. Why they do is anyone’s guess. <\/p>\n The Panthers should not have this much faith in Xavier Legette Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) looks on before the game against the Los Angeles Rams | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Last offseason, the Panthers ultimately did not trade for DK Metcalf, a superstar wide receiver with connections to Dave Canales. They said it was partly because Xavier Legette, fresh off a 497-yard season, was Metcalf-esque. <\/p>\n After an even worse second season, the Panthers still believe in him. Per David Newton of ESPN, Canales said, “The thing I respect about Xavier is that through this process, all he’s done is work. All he’s done is just continue to try to find ways; ‘How can I help?’ He continued to block, and he continued to be available.”<\/p>\n To Legette’s credit, he knows he’s been bad. “All I can do is what I do,” he said. “From a production standpoint, I don’t even know what to say about that part. The mistakes that I make, they’re critical mistakes in a sense, but at the same time I’ve just got to play better on the production part.”<\/p>\n Nevertheless, GM Dan Morgan went to bat for him earlier this offseason<\/a>, saying fans are too impatient with players who don’t develop right away. <\/p>\n “He’s just made of the right stuff,” Canales added. “I have full faith and confidence that Xavier will bounce back and have an excellent year next year.”<\/p>\n It’s really hard to see what the Panthers see. They are probably just trying to avoid a Buffalo Bills situation where the owner and GM are pinning a bad receiver on the coach and trying to say no one in the building even wanted to draft him. <\/p>\n But there’s a good chance both Morgan and Canales believe what they say. The question is why?<\/p>\n – Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI –<\/p>\n Panthers linked to controversial wide receiver in NFL free agency<\/a><\/p>\n PFF expects Panthers to make shocking choice in NFL draft<\/a><\/p>\n Carolina Panthers officially had second-best NFL rookie class in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Carolina](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01kfnc7w62kvq0abyb56.jpg\" "\\"Carolina")
<\/p>\n