One of the more curious cuts on Saturday was seventh-round pick Terry Godwin, who appeared to be the frontrunner to return punts and perhaps kicks – the release of the speedy wide receiver left blanks on the depth chart at both punt and kick returner.
The Panthers appear to now be trying to fill in those blanks.
While much is made of players surviving the initial cuts from 90 to 53 on Saturday, more moves were certain to be on the way as the Panthers continue to mold their roster to their liking as they hurtle towards the regular season opener next Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. After trimming their roster to 53, they made some additional tweaks on Sunday as sources confirmed reports that the team had claimed two wide receivers, former Viking Brandon Zylstra and former Bill Ray-Ray McCloud, as well as defensive back Natrell Jamerson, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 draft by the Saints before spending time in Houston and then Green Bay.
Jamerson, who was originally recruited to Wisconsin as a wide receiver, switched to defensive back and has the skillset to play safety as well as slot corner – he also took over the main kickoff return duties for the Badgers his sophomore season and had a 98-yard return for a score that season. He started at both nickel corner and safety during his college career and after running a 4.4 40-yard dash at the combine, he was selected by the Saints but ultimately cut when rosters were trimmed. He appeared in ten games for the Texans and logged seven tackles in 2018.
Brandon Zylstra, who once led the CFL in receiving yards in 2017 with 1,687 receiving yards on 100 catches, spent a year with the Vikings and returned four punts and a kickoff – it appears clear where the former Edmonton Eskimo’s value lies. Zylstra played only 17 snaps on offense in 2018 but 262 snaps on special teams.
Ray-Ray McCloud was selected in the sixth round of the 2018 Draft by the Bills and after starring for the Clemson Tigers, he was inactive for six games and only had five receptions for 36 yards in 10 games his rookie season. In a Panhters system that values position flexibility, the 5-10, 190 pound wide receiver has it in spades – in 2017 at Clemson, he was named honorable mention All-ACC as an all-purpose player, contirbuting as a receiver with 49 receptions, 503 yards and one touchdown, rusher (six carries, 30 yards), and punt returner (25 returns, 303 yards, one touchdown).
