The Panthers are shopping wide receiver Terrace Marshall, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic (subscription required). Marshall received permission to seek a trade in advance of last year’s deadline, but Carolina found no takers.
Marshall, 24, has not made the type of impact the club expected when it made him a second-round pick in 2021. Now that he is in the last year of his rookie contract, the Panthers will renew their attempt to extract some trade compensation for their former Day 2 investment.
Marshall entered the league with high expectations after he played a role in LSU’s explosive passing game alongside Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. After a rookie campaign in which he caught just 17 balls for 138 yards, Marshall took a notable step forward under then-OC Ben McAdoo in 2022, recording 28 catches for 490 yards – good for a whopping 17.5 yards-per-reception rate – and a score.
That performance seemingly set Marshall up nicely for at least a role as a legitimate big-play threat in 2023, but he operated in a reduced capacity under HC Frank Reich and OC Thomas Brown to begin the year. That precipitated the above-referenced trade request, which did not lead to a desired change of scenery. Marshall was inactive for Weeks 11 through 17 of the 2023 campaign, and he finished the year with 19 catches for 139 yards.
It was reported back in May that Marshall was on the roster bubble, though Carolina hopes that he has shown enough in the preseason to curry some trade interest. Marshall caught five passes for 53 yards and a TD over the three-game exhibition slate, including a 3/39/1 performance in yesterday’s contest against Buffalo. According to Person, Marshall has also flashed in practice.
Although Carolina could certainly find room for Marshall as an ancillary weapon, it appears the club is prepared to move on and offer him a chance at a quality platform season elsewhere. Person names the Bills, who saw Marshall’s best preseason performance firsthand and who have taken a look at other veteran wideouts this offseason, as a team to monitor (Buffalo also employs Joe Brady as its offensive coordinator, and Brady was with LSU during Marshall’s time there and was Carolina’s OC when Marshall was drafted).
The Panthers’ willingness to trade Marshall could be impacted by the health of fellow wideout Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who sustained an ankle injury in the Buffalo contest.