{"id":262281,"date":"2026-01-09T14:45:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=262281"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:50:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T18:50:02","slug":"wild-card-weekend-could-be-last-game-for-top-trade-candidate-xavier-legette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/09\/wild-card-weekend-could-be-last-game-for-top-trade-candidate-xavier-legette\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild Card Weekend Could Be Last Game for Top Trade Candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time in more than a decade, the Carolina Panthers will be in the wild-card, but this could be the last time that trade candidate Xavier Legette is with the team. The chances of the Panthers winning are slim, so that means Legette might be playing his last game as a Carolina Panther, as they plan to give more reps to WR2 Jalen Coker<\/a>. Legette’s production as a reliable pass-catcher has been nonexistent, only hauling in 35 receptions for 363 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Panthers have seen an explosion from both Coker and rookie Tetairoa McMillan<\/a>, which could cause trouble for Legett,e and a trade may be likely here.<\/p>\n

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Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) catches the ball during a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Oct 19, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wild Card Weekend Could Be Last Game for Top Trade Candidate Xavier Legette – 3 Potential Suitors<\/h2>\n

Originally selected as a first-round pick in 2024, the former South Carolina product hasn’t shown much since arriving on the team. After a disastrous rookie campaign, head coach Dave Canales was hopeful that Legette would improve, but that hasn’t been the case. While McMillan and Coker are thriving under Young’s passing game, Legette is fading in the background and looks more like a bust. Canales explained why his reps are being “cut,” which the head coach praised Coker at the same time.<\/p>\n

Canales still believes in Legette, but it’s hard to imagine that he’s still a Panther once the season is over. Legette may need a fresh start elsewhere, and there should be plenty of teams looking to grant him his wish. He isn’t going to be lightning in a bottle, but given that he still has two years in his rookie deal, it should be lucrative enough for these three teams.<\/p>\n

Possible Next Teams<\/h2>\n

Dallas Cowboys<\/h3>\n

While the Dallas Cowboys are planning to extend George Pickens<\/a> to a monster contract, the team can’t ignore improving the depth of their receiver unit. Jalen Tolbert and Jonathan Mingo haven’t been able to pull their own weight in this offense to make life easier for Dak Prescott. With Tolbert likely gone in free agency<\/a>, the Cowboys are left with a void either way. If the Cowboys retain Pickens, they should consider bringing in Legette since he’s a cheaper option.<\/p>\n

Legette doesn’t need to be the perfect pass-catcher, but enough to record 700 receiving yards and move the chains in situational moments in the slot.<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the Chiefs may soon lose Rashee Rice again this upcoming season for several games due to the latest news<\/a>. If that happens, the team will have no other choice but to trade for a receiver or completely draft one. Kansas City doesn’t have the financial freedom to get the best receiver in the trade market or free agency, but Legette’s contract gives them more flexibility. The Chiefs should rework the contracts of Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones to make this trade work.<\/p>\n

Washington Commanders<\/h3>\n

The Commanders could lose Deebo Samuel<\/a> this offseason if they don’t act quickly. Terry McLaurin is locked in for the future, but they need a reliable weapon to help Luke McCaffrey slowly come back from his season-ending injury last year. If Samuel is gone, the Commanders may trade for Legette to give Jayden Daniels another pass-catcher, who could turn out better than expected, as they saw in the breakout of Treylon Burks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers could trade at least one player after the Wild-Card Matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":262283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,30,19,16,6431,8896],"tags":[7739,7811,7422,4793,9146,32529,7466,7661,9716,8996,32429],"class_list":["post-262281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-panthers","category-cowboys","category-chiefs","category-nfl-teams","category-washington-commanders","tag-carolina-panthers-news","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-deebo-samuel","tag-george-pickens","tag-jalen-coker","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-news","tag-panthers-featured","tag-rashee-rice","tag-washington-commanders-news","tag-xavier-legette"],"modified_by":"Anthony Palacios","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262281"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262290,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262281\/revisions\/262290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}