Panthers GM Fitterer Denies McCaffrey Trade is Start of Fire Sale

Oct 16, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey (22) carries the ball against the Los Angeles Rams in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the obvious message that Thursday's Christian McCaffrey trade may have sent about the team, the Carolina Panthers say they are not beginning a fire sale or in tanking mode moving forward.

General manager Scott Fitterer spoke to reporters Friday to address the team's trade of one of its marquee players to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a package of draft picks. And the message he conveyed is that, despite trading away the face of the franchise, it does not mean future deals are on the horizon for the team's other top young players.

"Philosophically, we always listen. And we have gotten calls, and we've said no to all of them," Fitterer said. "I think there's certain players on this team, we like really the young core of our team. We're building. This isn't a situation where we're trying to sell. We're trying to add players to this already really good young mix, guys like (DE Brian) Burns, guys like (DT Derrick) Brown. We'll always listen, but I want those guys here. These are guys that we win with moving forward,"

The answer confirms that Carolina has received offers on some of its other best players, defenders like Burns, Brown, linebacker Shaq Thompson and safety Jeremy Chinn, as well the top remaining playmaker on the offensive side of the ball, receiver DJ Moore.

Any future moves the Panthers make would follow the bombshell that the team delivered to the Carolina community Thursday night, when it shipped McCaffrey to the 49ers in exchange for a draft picks in Rounds 2-4 in 2023, and a fifth-round selection in 2024. The move ended a six-year tenure with the Panthers for McCaffrey, during which time he set team and NFL records, and was a two-time All-Pro.

"It just got to point where we thought this was what was best for the organization moving forward, that this was the right move," Fitterer said. "It's a tough move, because when you have someone of Christian's stature in the community, the type of player he is, the type of person he is, it's really tough to move on from him. He really handled it well. But for the organization moving forward, we felt it was the right decision, and the right value for what we have planned moving forward."

Fitterer said that teams began calling about McCaffrey last week Friday, with things picking up speed on Tuesday. Three concrete offers emerged, as well as a couple teams "testing the water" on a deal, and that multiple teams who were serious suitors for the running back did not have a first-round pick, which the team felt was in the right area of value to deal him away.

"That was a lot of the discussion we had, is why do we move on from this? And why we moved on is we have to do what's best for the organization," Fitterer said. "How do we get the most value, how do we build this team with the division that we have moving forward? So that's why we did it, but it's hard."

Trading McCaffrey leaves Carolina with free-agent signing D'Onta Foreman and 2021 draft pick Chuba Hubbard at running back. McCaffrey is the second offensive playmaker the team has dealt this week, following wide receiver Robbie Anderson. The Panthers shipped Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2024 and a seventh-rounder in 2025, following Anderson being sent off the field by interim head coach Steve Wilks during the team's Week 6 loss.

Fitterer did not rule out other trades coming, saying he would consider moving players who don't fit the team's timeline to grow and win a Super Bowl in the coming seasons. But for the biggest names, like Burns, Moore and Brown, it's not a complete fire sale in Carolina just yet.

"You never know, but I know there's players on this team I really don't want to trade, I know this organization does not want to trade," Fitterer said. "It would have to take something astronomical, but I think moving froward, we like where we're at, and we like our young players. They're not going to go anywhere."