Panthers' Draft Bust Pays Steelers

The Panthers traded up to draft DJ Johnson in 2023, only to see him become a bust and depart by September—now one of their worst draft picks. But here’s the twist: the Steelers, who traded picks to Carolina for Johnson, just signed Nick Herbig and Darnell Washington to massive extensions using those very picks. Herbig got $100M over four years, Washington got $42M. Those picks originally came from the McCaffrey trade, so the Panthers essentially traded McCaffrey assets to draft a bust, then watched the Steelers profit off the picks they received. Johnson? He’s now with the Commanders, coached by the former Panthers GM who drafted him. A wild, circular mess of bad decisions—and big paydays for others. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/07bcd282a7e05774