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The Panthers’ 53-man roster you see on Saturday night may look different by the beginning of the week. Teams have until noon on Sunday to claim players who were victims of final cuts and Carolina has some shopping to do.
The Panthers had been planning to sift through cuts since they lost Kelvin Benjamin and it’s hard to imagine they’ll go into the regular with a receiving roster of Ted Ginn, Jerricho Cotchery, Devin Funchess, Corey Brown and Kevin Norwood. But like Norwood, hopes for an immediate impact should be tempered for a guy who has to learn a new playbook after being dumped by another team.
While a potential receiver will get much of the attention, the Panthers could also be in the market for a cornerback. Starters Charles Tillman and Josh Norman are in the concussion protocol, backup Teddy Williams tweaked his groin two days ago, and it sounded like S/CB Colin Jones had a significant groin injury until he made a surprising return last week. That leaves Bené Benwikere as the only healthy cornerback on the roster eight days before the opener.
You can find a list of notable cuts here, but as is Dave Gettleman’s wont, don’t be surprised if he adds guys with less familiar names.
Because Mike Remmers and Chris Scott just started getting snaps at center this summer, the Panthers probably aren’t completely comfortable either could replace Ryan Kalil except in a pinch. So add a backup center to the shopping list.
With that said, Saturday’s ‘final’ roster is a reminder of how far the offensive line has come in a year. Last season, Nate Chandler was the starting right tackle while Amini Silatolu was at left guard. Now they’re both backups, even if they had shaky, injury-plagued preseasons.
Jordan Todman’s release was arguably Saturday’s biggest surprise, but the Panthers didn’t have room for both him and Fozzy Whittaker. They’re both third-down backs who can return kicks while Whittaker is a better blocker.
Also, Brandon Wegher appears to be this year’s David Foucault. Wegher is better seasoned, but like the big Canadian in 2014, the Panthers didn’t want to risk putting Wegher on waivers.
When the Panthers signed Jason Trusnik and drafted David Mayo, it looked like Ben Jacobs would be on his way out. So credit to him for quietly going through the spring and summer to beat out Trusnik and Adarius Glanton.[line][vc_raw_html]
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