Carolina Panthers’ coaches and front office staff are currently huddled inside Bank of America Stadium whittling the roster down from 75 to 53.

Ahead of Saturday’s final cuts, I wanted to bring up a strategy general manager Dave Gettleman’s employed the past couple years.

In 2014, offensive tackle David Foucault was originally told he was being released. But later that morning, he was called back. Because the Panthers were afraid another team might scoop him up off waivers before they could add him to the practice squad, Foucault made the team.

A similar situation happened last year with running back Brandon Wegher. He didn’t have to go through the same emotional roller coaster as Foucault, but Wegher was added to the roster even though the Panthers knew he was far from a finished product.

“When you cut to your 53, you’re probably going to carry a couple of guys — rookies, young guys — that have all the physical skills, but they’re really not quite ready. But because of their skills, you don’t want to lose them,” Gettleman said Wednesday when I asked him about the philosophy.

“If you see a guy who’s a potential starter for you, you’ve got to be careful putting him out there.”

So when cuts come in Saturday, there may be a player or two who may never see the field in 2016. And that’s why roster management requires a longer lens.

“When I was in New York,” Gettleman explained, “at the end of the process, before we’d say, ‘OK, this is it,’ I’d ask the group a general question. I’d say, ‘Is anybody here going to have heartburn if (another team) claims (this player)? If you’re going to have heartburn, we’re going to continue the conversation.’

“With the technology now, the film’s instant, so everybody’s evaluating everybody else’s guys. And that’s the question you have to ask yourself. To get to the right answer, you have to ask the right question. The right question is are you going to be upset if you lose the guy?”

Predictions this way ——>