With preseason and training camp winding down, the Panthers are moving toward the kind of roster decisions that settle position battles and define roles. Carolina also added one more name to the mix on August 17, bringing in former Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller.
That move gave the Panthers another option in a tight ends room that still has to sort itself out, and it also gave the offense a chance to add a different kind of threat. The catch is that Waller still has to make the roster, and with the August 30 cut date approaching, nothing is locked in yet.
Even so, Waller’s case is pretty straightforward on the receiving end. He’s 33, so Dave Canales and Brad Idzik have every reason to keep evaluating what they have. But from a pass-catching standpoint, the competition doesn’t look especially close.
Mitchell Evans may have the edge as a blocker in Carolina’s room. At 6-foot-5 and nearly 260 pounds, he’s the kind of body built for that job. But as a receiver, Waller separates himself fast.
In 2025, after signing with the Miami Dolphins midseason, Waller played nine games and still outproduced every Panthers tight end individually in receiving yards with 283. He also scored six touchdowns, more than the entire Carolina tight end group combined. Mitchell Evans, Tommy Tremble and Ja’Tavion Sanders finished with five touchdowns together.
Waller is still learning Carolina’s system and building chemistry with Bryce Young, but the difference shows up when he’s on the field. Just watching him run routes and catch the ball, he brings a gear the others in that room don’t have.
Carolina could use exactly that kind of presence. The Panthers need a real red-zone target, a bigger pass catcher who can win in traffic and finish the play with six points. Waller gives them that, along with better vertical speed and a more varied route tree than the rest of the group can offer.
His 2025 season backs that up too. Waller finished with the second-highest PFF receiving grade among tight ends at 87.6, trailing only George Kittle.
At this point, the logic is simple: even with his age, Waller has the kind of skill set that should put him in line to start at tight end for Carolina and become a dependable target for Young. The Panthers already don’t have much certainty in that room, so it makes sense to see what Waller can do.
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