Subject to his passing a physical, which could be an issue, for a late-round draft pick. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Jon Beason, once perhaps the best linebacker in the NFL, just hasn’t been the same player after tearing his Achilles in 2010 and recently lost his starting job to Chase Blackburn. For the Panthers, this is a case of getting as much as they can for Beason — he almost certainly wasn’t going to be on the roster next year and may well have been cut later this year.
The move though does highlight the Panthers’ lack of depth caused by poor drafting and player development in the late Marty Hurney era. So far this season, it’s been apparent that the Panthers have issues along the offensive line and defensive secondary. The team though is also a year or two away from having major issues at linebacker. Yes, Luke Kuechly is 22 and a stud but the other two starters, Thomas Davis and Chase Blackburn, are both 30. Also on the roster is a 29-yeasr old Jordan Senn and 22-year old rookie A.J. Klein. That’s it. It’s too early to tell if Klein will develop into a starter, but even if he does, the Panther will still need to draft or otherwise acquire several quality LBs sooner rather than later.
