What message does it send when you start trading your most valuable players in-season? The Carolina Panthers fired Matt Rhule on October 10, and then traded receiver Robby Anderson and running back Christian McCaffrey in rapid succession. Interim head coach Steve Wilks’ message to his team and the fanbase was clear — the Panthers are not tanking. That played out well for Wilks in Carolina’s 21-3 flummoxing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, but that was as much or more about the Bucs falling off several cliffs as anything else.
In any event, several NFL teams are looking at their seasons, and their futures, as the November 1 trade deadline looms. Based on all available reliable rumor and innuendo, here are the most prominent players who have been named in trade talks, and whether or not their current teams should make moves — despite (or perhaps because of) the messages those moves will send.