The Carolina Panthers are trimming their roster, and veteran quarterback Kyle Trask is among the first names out.
With the 2026 NFL preseason now wrapped up, teams are shifting into cutdown mode and trying to get to the 53-man limit by Sunday at 6 p.m. A waiver period follows, which means the Panthers’ roster picture may not fully settle until Tuesday. Even so, Carolina has already started making moves.
Trask was signed just a few weeks ago, but his stay in Carolina proved brief. When Haynes King went down with an injury after the first preseason game, the Panthers brought in Trask to help handle the workload, and he ended up getting valuable preseason snaps.
In three preseason appearances, Trask threw for 252 yards, connected on two touchdown passes and was intercepted twice. He also completed 70 percent of his attempts.
That doesn’t necessarily close the door on him in Carolina. Jeremy Fowler reported the cut on Sunday and said Trask could still return on the practice squad or serve as an emergency third quarterback. Given that he already knows the system, he remains a logical fallback option.
The move also lines up with King’s situation. He has been dealing with a hamstring injury, but the Panthers’ quarterback depth made it unnecessary to push him. Fowler noted that King could have played in Friday’s preseason game if needed, but with Kenny Pickett and Trask on the roster, Carolina had no reason to take that risk.
Trask’s career path has already included one big college breakthrough and one unfinished NFL chapter. He broke out at Florida in 2020, putting up 4,283 passing yards and 43 touchdowns while helping the Gators reach the SEC Championship Game. Tampa Bay then took him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft as a possible heir to Tom Brady, but that plan never took hold, and the Buccaneers eventually moved on after landing Baker Mayfield.
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