According to Joe Person of the Athletic, the Panthers had trade discussions involving TE Ja’Tavion Sanders before roster cuts this weekend.
Carolina ultimately held onto Sanders despite the trade buzz, keeping him as well as four other tight ends on their initial 53-man roster.
Sanders is entering his third year and has battled injuries in his first two seasons that haven’t helped him find a groove with the team. The Panthers signed veteran TE Darren Waller, who like Sanders is also viewed as a receiving tight end.
The Panthers have shown a willingness to move on from underperforming players, even recent draft picks. They traded former second-round WR Jonathan Mingo a couple of years back and waived one of Sanders’ draft classmates, LB Trevin Wallace, this past weekend.
Sanders, 23, was first-team All-Big 12 in 2022 and 2023, and he set a school record at Texas for receiving yards by a tight end in 2023 with 682 yards.
The Panthers selected him with the No. 101 pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s entering the third year of a four-year, $4,969,236 rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $874,236.
In 2025, Sanders appeared in 13 games for the Panthers and caught 29 passes on 34 targets for 190 yards and one touchdown.
We’ll have more on Sanders as the news is available.
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