The Carolina Panthers’ final 53-man roster brought the kind of cuts that sting a little more than the usual late-summer churn. After a long delay, the team finally put its roster together Sunday night, and a few names that looked close to locks ended up on the outside looking in.
Trevin Wallace was the biggest jolt. He was in the mix to start, and instead he didn’t make the 53 at all.
A return to the practice squad is possible if he clears waivers, but that feels far from guaranteed. The arrival of Bobby Okereke appears to have changed the math quickly.
Even though Okereke was signed just two days ago, the Panthers clearly preferred him to Wallace, and Claudin Cherilus being able to help on special teams only made the squeeze tighter.
Cam Gill’s cut was less of a pure shock, but it still stands out. Carolina has real depth at edge, and Gill was having a strong preseason, including a solid showing in the finale against the Houston Texans.
Even so, there were simply too many bodies for him to survive the numbers game. The Panthers may have let him go with the idea of bringing him right back on the practice squad.
As a vested veteran, he’s easier to stash there as emergency depth than many others.
Isaiah Simmons also landed in the surprise category. He had been a standout on special teams and a useful piece on defense, and his hybrid skill set made him look like a roster lock.
Instead, he was cut, with the Panthers likely hoping he remains available for the practice squad and can be elevated when needed. That’s basically how things played out last season after he was signed.
The strange part is that Carolina has plenty of safeties, but not many linebackers, which makes the move tough to square.
Corey Thornton’s slide was another hard turn. Before tearing his ACL last year, the former undrafted free agent had apparently won the nickel job.
This time around, he lost the starting spot to Chau Smith-Wade and then got cut altogether. His preseason didn’t help him.
He may not have looked quite the same after the injury, and his coverage was shaky, while Smith-Wade’s was not. If the Panthers want to mix Jaycee Horn into the slot at times, that probably pushed the decision even further.
Then there’s Ja’seem Reed, who went from making plays to hitting the waiver wire. He was one of the preseason standouts, but it still wasn’t enough to stick.
Carolina kept Brycen Tremayne, Jimmy Horn Jr., and John Metchie instead. Reed’s case came down to a couple of things: he missed time with an injury, and he didn’t separate himself on special teams the way Metchie and Jimmy Horn did.
At the back end of a receiver room, that kind of edge can be the difference between making the roster and getting left off it.
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Simmons appeared in five games for Carolina, adding another stop to a career that has already included time with the Cardinals and Giants. The talent has always been obvious enough on paper, with 331 combined tackles, 8.5 sacks, five interceptions, nine forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, but the Panthers never managed to carve out the kind of role that would make the fit work. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Final Cuts Raised A Bigger Question About Two Position Battles
The Panthers got to their 53-man roster by the NFL deadline on Aug. 30, but the most interesting part of the process was not just who left. Jaseem Reed, after a strong preseason, was among the notable cuts along with veteran David Moore and third-round pick Trevin Wallace, a reminder that even encouraging August performances do not always translate into a spot once the numbers get tight. Carolina is planning to carry six wide receivers into the regular season, which at least gives the group a defined shape heading into the opener.
Still, the final list left behind a bigger question about where the real decisions were made. The Panthers have a little more than two weeks before they open against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 13, and the roster trim suggests the wide receiver group and the battle around Wallace's position were both under a microscope right up to the finish. For a team trying to settle its depth chart before Week 1, those choices may matter as much as the players who survived them. [Read more 🡒]