All eyes are on Tuesday's trade deadline to see if the Carolina Panthers acquire more assets for the 2024 offseason. But the fallout from general manager Dan Morgan trading away Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens remains a hot topic of discussion around the league.

The Panthers acquired Johnson via trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. After an encouraging summer, great things were expected. It didn't take long for things to unravel, eventually leading to his immediate return to the AFC North for pennies on the dollar.

Carolina moved up a few spots on the third day of the draft and had to take on most of Johnson's remaining salary in order to seal the deal. This was met with great consternation from the fan base, who always thought a move was inevitable but were upset at what the Panthers were getting for the accomplished pass catcher.

CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones expressed similar thoughts on the deal when speaking with sources around the league. The senior insider revealed that people he spoke to were shocked at what Morgan accepted for Johnson, especially considering what older wideouts had previously ordered.

“Sources throughout the NFL were stunned by the lack of compensation Carolina received for wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Typically, teams get a higher draft pick by “buying” the contract or a lower one by passing the contract to the next team. Here In this case, the 1-7 Panthers made a 10-12 improvement on the third day of the 2025 draft while also paying Johnson's salary to go to Baltimore. However, there were previous reports of communication issues between Johnson and the team, with the return lower than expected. It was by far the lowest compensation of the four big-name receivers traded before the deadline.

– Jonathan Jones, CBS Sports

Was the compensation ideal? No. But it is also obvious that the Panthers wanted to eliminate this problem by any means possible.

Johnson quickly became a distraction. He expected better and wasn't afraid to make his feelings known about this team's lack of performance on both sides of the football. There was also the quarterback problem, which wasn't exactly welcomed by the former third-round pick from Toledo.

The Panthers felt it was time to get their young players more involved. Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker and tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders have all shown tremendous promise in recent weeks. It's by no means perfect, but giving them prominent representation and targets in a competitive environment will do wonders for their long-term development.

It is unclear whether Miles Sanders, Jadeveon Clowney and Adam Thielen will suffer a similar fate in the coming hours. The Panthers could have more players who provide short-term value, but nothing more. This time they want something in return after getting almost nothing for Johnson.

It's a fine line and time is of the essence. Johnson doesn't shed many tears after catching a legitimate Super Bowl contender. As for Morgan? He is weathering the storm and trying to do justice to the franchise as part of his long-term plans.

If that meant eliminating Johnson and possibly destroying other establishment figures, then so be it. Either way, the time for half measures is over.

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