The Trade Deadline is rapidly approaching. Unfortunately, the Carolina Panthers are caught in the middle here. They are, at full strength, an apparent playoff team, one that would warrant some acquisitions.

They're not full strength, and to be truthful, they won't ever be. We can't expect Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, Jaelan Phillips, Taylor Moton, Xavier Legette, and Jonathon Brooks to all return and stay healthy without anyone else going down. It's not going to happen, so perhaps this season is better used as a chance to offload some dead weight.

So, should the Panthers be buyers or sellers? There's an argument for both.

The Panthers should buy

The argument that the Panthers should buy is simple: They're banged up with holes on the roster and are still in first place. They are clearly a team capable of hanging with most teams when they're healthy, so why not add to make sure they can stay healthy?

Adding a cornerback to this roster would be the single-most justified move in the NFL. Adding an edge rusher, a wide receiver, or quite literally anything on the offensive line would also be pretty understandable.

Before injuries really piled up and the offensive line play fell off a cliff, this team was 3-2 and looked like the clear class of the NFC South. Adding players to help offset the recent issues would seemingly restore them to that level.

The Panthers should sell

Health is one thing, but bad play is another, and after firing Ejiro Evero, it's clear that bad performance should be met with consequences. The Panthers have a number of players not playing to their standards, and some of them would bring in a nice return.

The Panthers could set themselves up for a brilliant offseason next year by trading Robert Hunt, Derrick Brown, and Tre'von Moehrig. They'd get back a pretty good haul for all three, even the struggling Hunt, due to either talent, demand, or financial flexibility.

They'd also clear a fair amount of cap space to extend Bryce Young and not be totally hamstrung. That salary cap is looming, and this is a way to get out from behind the eight-ball and get some draft capital.

Verdict: Buy, but modestly

The Panthers should buy, but they should not go crazy. Maybe it's a late-round pick for Jackson Powers-Johnson or Riq Woolen, but they can call it a day after that. The health issues mean this team is not going to be a true contender this year, and going all-in after that is foolish.

That said, the Panthers can't keep going this way. They're way too injured and have too many problems on a first-place team to sell assets or stand pat. They have to do something, but they can't afford to do too much.