We are so close to all of this guessing coming to an end. Three preseason games are in the books, and we’ve gone through four roster projections, all of them similar but with small tweaks near the bottom of the roster as battles were fought between teammates and situations became more clear. Just when it appeared that the Panthers were involving Darrel Young and Alex Armah in the game plan, Ed Dickson took all of the week three snaps at fullback, making it appear the Panthers appear ready to move forward without a fullback on the roster. While the past roster projections have urged you to take them with a grain of salt as there were still a lot of practices and games to be played, those warnings have sloughed away in favor of a reminder that this is just a projection. I am not in Ron Rivera or Marty Hurney’s heads, this is just what I think the Panthers roster will look like come next Monday based on preseason snap counts and practice reports.
One more caveat: I believe the Panthers will be adding some depth through free agency and not necessarily keeping the 53 guys they like the most that are on the roster today. I’ll let you know what positions those will be and where I think those cuts will be made. The Panthers will be trimming their roster from 90 to 53 on Saturday.
Quarterbacks: Cam Newton, Derek Anderson, Joe Webb. The big clamor again this week is for Joe Webb to move up to QB2; that’s not going to be happening, but Webb has too much value to be kept off the roster.
Running Backs: Jonathan Stewart, Christian McCaffrey, Cameron Artis-Payne, Fozzy Whittaker. As fast as Darrel Young made it onto the roster projection last week, he fell off just as quickly when tight end Ed Dickson took all of the snaps as the main blocker in the I-Formation against the Jaguars. Neither Young nor Armah took an offensive snap until the second half, and if one of them is going to make the team, it will be specifically to play special teams, and I feel as if there are enough players elsewhere to fill those roles. Specifically, Artis-Payne has received a lot of special teams work this preseason, which was not somewhere he had a role last season. Armah is a lock for the practice squad if he doesn’t make the 53-man roster.
Wide Receivers: Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess, Russell Shepard, Curtis Samuel, Damiere Byrd. If the Panthers decide that they want to keep six wide receivers, Kaelin Clay has most likely taken the lead for the sixth spot (and by default, the practice squad wide receiver spot). However, I think the Panthers will go with five wide receivers as they may consider Christian McCaffrey the sixth on this crew.
Tight End: Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson, Chris Manhertz. With Dickson being the second tight end in two weeks to tell me that being able to line up as a fullback is “just part of being a tight end in this offense,” it seems as if Manhertz and Dickson will be taking on the roles of “blocking” tight end to Olsen’s “receiving” tight end.
Offensive Line: Trai Turner, Andrew Norwell, Ryan Kalil, Matt Kalil, Daryl Williams, Amini Silatolu, Chris Scott, Tyler Larsen, Taylor Moton, JJ Jansen. With Scott returning to practice yesterday, this appears to be the offensive line group the Panthers will enter the season with. Silatolu, Larsen, and Moton will be the first three guys off the bench in case of an injury with the multi-positional Scott acting as the emergency backup across the line.
Special Teamers: Graham Gano, Andy Lee. The competitions have grown closer, but I think Rivera will lean on his veterans going into the season. If Gano is going to be replaced, it may come from a kicker not on the current roster; seventh round pick Harrison Butker has just been too erratic in practice even though he has made all of his kicks throughout the preseason. While Palardy may have punted just as well as Lee this preseason, the fact that Andy Lee has a $2 million in dead cap attached to him may be the ultimate factor in the team’s decision.
Linebackers: Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Shaq Thompson, David Mayo, Jeremy Cash, Jared Norris, Ben Jacobs. Ben Jacobs will be the casualty if the Panthers decide to add another defensive tackle or secondary piece, but he makes it for his special teams play, after playing on every available snap against the Jaguars last week.
Defensive Ends: Julius Peppers, Charles Johnson, Daeshon Hall, Mario Addison, Wes Horton. While Daeshon Hall will most likely not be ready for San Francisco after suffering a knee contusion last week, he’s too valuable not to start the season on the active roster; the defensive end position is one of the deepest on the team, so the Panthers should be able to survive a few weeks without Hall.
Defensive Tackles: Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei, Vernon Butler, Kyle Love, Eric Crume. With both Butler and Love not practicing this week, the defensive tackle position seems ripe for a free agent signing as one or both of them get healthy. Don’t be surprised if one of them makes the roster and then ends up on the IR/Designated to Return list as they give way to a free agent signing.
Cornerbacks: James Bradberry, Daryl Worley, Captain Munnerlyn, Teddy Williams, Zack Sanchez. Cole Luke is right behind Sanchez, but a year of experience and a game against Jacksonville in which Sanchez looked good with an interception while Luke looked a bit confused in coverage gives Sanchez the edge heading into the final preseason game. Corn Elder may make the roster on Saturday instead of Sanchez, who could replace him as Elder heads to IR/Designated to Return. All this will be based on Elder’s health; if he is close to returning, he may just take Sanchez’s spot on the roster. This is another spot where the Panthers may make a signing to replace Sanchez or the play of either corner on Thursday could decide the final spot.
Safeties: Mike Adams, Kurt Coleman, Colin Jones, Dezmen Southward. Again, if the Panthers don’t make a signing here before the season starts it would be surprising. They seemed to be taking a long look at both Southward and Damian Parms in Jacksonville, who are competing for the backup safety spot opposite Colin Jones. Parms seems to have more special teams value than Southward, but both may be below-replacement level NFL safeties. LJ McCray may have gotten an injury at the wrong time as he didn’t travel to Jacksonville.
Last Guys Cut/Practice Squaders: Cole Luke, Zeek Bigger, Alex Armah, Bryan Cox Jr, Kaelin Clay, Brenton Bersin, Jeff Richards, LJ McCray, Garrett Gilbert, Damian Parms.
