Saturday, all 32 NFL teams had to trim their rosters to 53 players as the season will officially begin this week. For the Panthers, it meant making some difficult decisions such as placing Graham Gano on season-ending injured reserve and parting ways with veteran backup running back Cameron Artis-Payne.
Although the Panthers have set their roster, the work is just beginning as Marty Hurney and his team will continue to search the waiver wire and take a look at the available free agents who could help their team; most of these players might not have an immediate impact, but they could add depth and perhaps pay dividends later on in the season.
Here are a few of the players the Panthers could potentially take a look at:
Photo Credit: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
Outside Linebacker Jachai Polite
Usually, when a player is chosen in the third round of the most recent NFL Draft, they are assured a roster spot. But no one told the New York Jets that as they cut Polite after investing a high draft pick only a few short months ago. There’s no doubt Polite has a lot of talent as he was once considered a first-round prospect before the draft, but character concerns and bad workouts during the scouting combine plummeted his draft stock.
The Panthers are always looking for players who can rush the passer – and Polite spent time in both a 4-3 and a 3-4 at Florida, which would fit well in the Panthers multiple scheme. They would be remiss not to at least consider bringing in Polite, who registered 11 sacks for the Florida Gators last season.
Update: Polite has signed with the Seahawks practice squad, according to reports
Photo Credit: AP Photo/David Dermer
Offensive Tackle, J’Marcus Webb
On Saturday, the Colts released Webb, a 10-year veteran. He was signed with the Colts in free agency in the spring of 2018 and opened last season as the team’s starting right tackle, but suffered a hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve. The Panthers could still use depth at the tackle positions as Greg Little, who was selected in the second round, is still developing and was still in the concussion protocol last week. With Webb’s experience and knowledge, he would be a reliable rotational option for the Panthers, whose other tackle option is Brandon Greene.
Photo Credit: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports
Linebacker Noah Spence
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released former 2016 second-round pick Noah Spence on Saturday.
In his rookie season, Spence finished with 5.5 sacks but failed to exceed or duplicate the same production in 2017 or 2018. During his second season in the league, Spence dealt with a shoulder injury that limited him to just six games. Last season, Spence played in 12 games recording three tackles as he was buried on the Buccaneers depth chart. The Panthers could add Spence for little to no cost at all. And at just 25 years old, Spence could potentially still develop into a solid player in the league. With the Panthers playing more of a 3-4 defense, Spence could have an impact as a situational pass rusher and add even more depth to an already deep group.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jack Dempsey
Wide Receiver Pharoh Cooper
The Panthers return game is very much up in the air after the team released seventh round pick Terry Godwin, who was expected to occupy the punt return space and perhaps contribute on kickoffs as well – if the Panthers wanted to add a return specialist, they could do a lot worse than Cooper, who averaged more than 12 yards per punt return in 2017 with the Rams and returned a kickoff 103 yards for a score. Cooper, who attended South Carolina, struggled to return from an ankle injury last season and was subsequently waived by the Rams – after signing with the Cardinals in December of 2018, he may have lost his spot this preseason to former Panther Damiere Byrd.
Update: Bengals have claimed Pharoh Cooper off waivers, according to reports.
