The last thing to do is assume that the 53 men that made the cut and are on the Panthers roster at 4 PM Saturday will be the same group that is suiting up for the Panthers during the 2019 season – in fact, there will likely be more moves in the next few days as the team settles in – the team currently has four running backs on the roster, including one that took 91.3% of the snaps last season – so that may very well change.
They’re likely to look for more depth along the offensive line as they have Tyler Larsen, Brandon Greene, Dennis Daley and Greg Little as their current backups; the question of who will return punts after the team included seventh-round pick Terry Godwin in their last round of cuts still remains to be answered.
Currently, the punt and kick returner slots are conspicuously empty on their official depth chart.
While Javien Elliott is the starter at nickel cornerback, other players around the league who were released, like former Seahawk Jamar Taylor, and the health of Kevon Seymour, who only resumed practicing last week and wasn’t able to suit up for the fourth preseason game, make the Panthers secondary as it’s currently constructed a very fluid situation.
Every general manager, including Marty Hurney, is scouring the waiver wire today as almost 1,200 players were released – but for the next few hours, undrafted free agents will rejoice with their friends and family. No one can take away the hard work, effort and talent that went into making it to training camp, let alone surviving the initial cut from 90 to 53.
Last year, the Panthers acquired Corey Robinson on cutdown day and the next day signed Lorenzo Doss when Matt Kalil went to injured reserve. The year before, Alex Armah was released and spent two weeks on the practice squad before being called up to the main roster; a release on cutdown day does not mean that a player can’t still be a contributor in the future just like making the initial 53-man roster doesn’t mean anyone should be buying a condo on Graham – ask Wes Horton, who made the initial roster in 2016 only to be waived the next day when the Panthers found another defensive end, Lavar Edwards, that they liked better. Six weeks later, Horton returned and the Panthers released Edwards – the NFL is a fickle business.
But with the roster at least temporarily set, let’s take a look at where there might be some changes and who’s here to stay.
Quarterbacks: Cam Newton, Kyle Allen, Will Grier. The Panthers like Allen’s unflappability under pressure – they’re hoping the end product is closer to what they saw when the lights came on in Week 17 last season than what he’s done with a vanilla playbook during the preseason – and they’re not going to give up on a third-round pick only four months after drafting him. Don’t expect Grier to get a jersey very often, but they’re grooming him for the future, not for this season.
Running Backs: Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Scarlett, Reggie Bonnafon, Elijah Holyfield. I wouldn’t expect all four of these guys to last very far into the season and Holyfield seems likely be the first to be released of this group if they think they can get better elsewhere on the roster – the Panthers would hope he might survive waivers to the practice squad. UPDATE: The Panthers have released Elijah Holyfield.
Fullback: Alex Armah. Will be interesting to see how much they lean on Armah on special teams with former leader Jared Norris being released.
Wide Receivers: DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel, Jarius Wright, Chris Hogan, Torrey Smith. Many thought that Terry Godwin was a lock to make the roster – and he may be back at some point – but he will likely make it through waivers to the practice squad. The Panthers can use Hogan at punt returner, if necessary. UPDATE: The Panthers have released Torrey Smith.
Tight End: Greg Olsen, Ian Thomas, Chris Manhertz. It seems as if Temarrick Hemingway might be back on the practice squad if he clears waivers after a nice preseason.
Offensive Line: Trai Turner, Taylor Moton, Matt Paradis, Greg Van Roten, Daryl Williams, Greg Little, Dennis Daley, Tyler Larsen, Brandon Greene. While the team likes what they saw from the 6-5 Greene, the only former AAF player whom the Panthers kept on the 53-man roster, they may have their eye around the league for another player who might be able to help them on the outside. Rishard Cook or Taylor Hearn might be an option for the practice squad
Defensive Line: Gerald McCoy, KK Short, Dontari Poe, Vernon Butler, Kyle Love, Efe Obada. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the Panthers add another player here, but they like the versatility that both Butler and Love give them in backup roles – they likely were hoping to keep Bryan Cox, Jr on the roster after he had a nice preseason, but the numbers didn’t work out, at least in this current iteration of the roster.
EDGE: Mario Addison, Bruce Irvin, Brian Burns, Marquis Haynes, Christian Miller. This group had likely been decided upon since Week 1 of the preseason when Haynes was electric in the Panthers new 3-4 scheme.
Linebackers: Luke Kuechly, Shaq Thompson, Andre Smith, Jermaine Carter, Jordan Kunaszyk. The substution of the undrafted free agent Kunaszyk for special teams stalwart Jared Norris may have stemmed from Kunaszyk’s familiarity with the three-man front – they ran the 3-4 at California where Kunaszyk had 143 tackles his senior year. But Kunaszyk’s play during the preseason likely gave him the upper hand – he led the team in tackles, had a sack and an interception.
Secondary: Donte Jackson, James Bradberry, Eric Reid, Tre Boston, Rashaan Gaulden, Ross Cockrell, Javien Elliott, Colin Jones, Kevon Seymour. After Seymour missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and missed all of last season, the Panthers showed a lot of faith in the talent that they saw when he flashed for the first few weeks in Spartanburg; if he’s able to work his way back, he could make an impact, but the fact that they don’t need him immediately likely factored into their decision to keep him as depth. While the Panthers liked the flexibility of Corn Elder, ultimately, they needed a ‘true nickel’, which is exactly what Ron Rivera called Elliott before he won the job during the preseason. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Cole Luke back on the practice squad again – just as it wouldn’t be surprising to see some additional moves made in this group. UPDATE: The Panthers have released Kevon Seymour.
Specialists: Michael Palardy, JJ Jansen, Joey Slye. With Graham Gano not kicking for the past month, it was clear they didn’t think he would be ready for Week 1, but by placing him on IR on Friday, they’re trusting in Joey Slye for the entirety of the season – they’re hoping he’s more of the 6-for-7 he was in the preseason and less of the 15-of-22 he was in his senior year.
