Roster cutdown day Tuesday for the Carolina Panthers actually started Monday when general manager Scott Fitterer pulled off a late-night trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for wide receiver/returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
It ended — kind of — with first-year coach Frank Reich saying the 53-man roster might look different Wednesday than it did at Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.
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“A lot of that work has been done and there’s still a little bit of work left to do,” Reich said. “There’s still the practice squad to do, to get right. By the time we step off the field (Wednesday), I’ll have all that information.”
While the Panthers checked one box with the addition of Smith-Marsette, they’re still interested in adding another cornerback, according to an executive with another team who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss personnel matters publicly.
The Panthers currently have only four cornerbacks on the roster — with C.J. Henderson and Troy Hill behind starters Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson. Safety Jeremy Chinn will play some big nickel. Still, corner seems like a position where the Panthers could add a player, while the wide receiver (seven) and tight end (five) groups feel a bit bloated.
Fitterer and Reich might see a running back on the waiver wire they like or decide they can upgrade along the offensive or defensive lines. In the meantime, here are four other takeaways on the Panthers’ initial, 53-man roster:
Going with 3 quarterbacks … for now anyway
There’s been zero drama regarding the starting quarterback since the Panthers traded for the No. 1 overall pick and used it on Bryce Young. Likewise, the No. 2 job has been locked up since Andy Dalton arrived on a two-year contract. But there was considerable interest in whether the Panthers would keep third-teamer Matt Corral, who survived the initial cut and will begin his second season as the scout-team QB.
“It’s definitely a blessing to keep building in the same offense and keep building this camaraderie with this team,” Corral said. “It’s definitely a good feeling.”
Corral missed his entire rookie season following foot surgery, then had an up-and-down preseason. He was disappointed in his accuracy after a 4-for-12 passing night in the exhibition finale against Detroit. But he ripped off a 27-yard scramble in the same game, declaring afterward: “Left foot is fixed, man.”
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The NFL reinstituted a rule this season that allows teams to field an emergency third quarterback. When meeting with reporters before the deadline, Reich was noncommittal on the team’s plan at quarterback. And an injury or a need at another position could prompt the Panthers to rethink things.
“Obviously, we love the work that Matt has done. The quarterback position is valuable. We feel good about where he’s at but there’s a lot of moving parts,” Reich said. “That’s the question all 32 teams are facing right now — what do you do with the third quarterback? That’s always a tough question.”
Youth movement up front
The Panthers went with youth over experience along the offensive line, with three rookies making the initial 53. Chandler Zavala, a fourth-round pick from N.C. State, is expected to compete with second-year player Cade Mays at right guard in place of Austin Corbett, who will miss at least the first four games after being placed on the physically unable to perform list following ACL surgery in January.
Undrafted free agents Nash Jensen and Ricky Lee also survived the cut. Meanwhile, veteran linemen Cam Erving, Michael Jordan and Justin McCray were cut after all struggled during the preseason.
Mays, a sixth-round pick in 2022 who is healthy after dealing with a neck issue, is part of the younger contingent in the O-line room.
“We don’t have that much experience but we play hard and we’re coachable. Not that those (veteran) guys didn’t,” Mays said. “But I think they liked what we bring to the table. I’m excited just to get our room together and take off and go through the season.”
GO DEEPER
Panthers rookie Chandler Zavala is ready to cook with the offensive line
Zavala, who played with left tackle Ikem Ekwonu at N.C. State, was a lock to make the team.
Jensen was part of four FCS championship teams at North Dakota State and played in 70 games, believed to be an NCAA all-divisions record. He received first-team work at guard at Wofford before missing time with a tweaked back. Lee is a 6-5, 289-pound tackle from North Carolina A&T who started his college career at North Carolina Central.
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Erving and Jordan combined for 19 starts for the Panthers in 2021 and were reserves last season. McCray had played for offensive line coach James Campen on three previous teams but did not impress during training camp or the preseason games.
Rough day for Matt Rhule guys
Rhule had a big say in personnel during his three seasons in Carolina. But Reich and the new staff said goodbye to five of the draft picks from Rhule’s tenure. All were third-day picks: receiver Shi Smith, cornerbacks Keith Taylor and Stantley Thomas-Oliver, linebacker Brandon Smith and offensive lineman Deonte Brown, who was waived at roster cutdowns for the second year in a row.
Brandon Smith was the highest draft pick among Tuesday’s casualties. The Panthers took Smith in the fourth round from Rhule’s Penn State alma mater despite very little college production. Smith, Taylor and Brown were part of an 11-player class in 2021. Six of the seven players chosen on the third day that year are gone, with running back Chuba Hubbard (fourth round) the lone man standing.
Thomas-Oliver’s exit means only three players remain from the all-defensive draft class brought in by Rhule and Marty Hurney in 2020 shortly after Rhule was hired: first-round pick Derrick Brown and second-rounders Yetur Gross-Matos and Chinn.
Blaine Gabbert to Ihmir Smith-Marsette for the 43-yard TD!
📺: #CLEvsKC on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/624TrfDUF6 pic.twitter.com/nUzHN7reuO— NFL (@NFL) August 26, 2023
A return engagement
The Panthers didn’t have much luck signing a veteran returner last year: Andre Roberts missed all but three games during his age-34 season. They’ll try a younger guy this year after trading for receiver/returner Smith-Marsette, who was dealt from Kansas City — along with a swap of conditional, seventh-round picks — on his 24th birthday. He’s expected to compete with running back Raheem Blackshear for the return roles.
Smith-Marsette has bounced around a bit since the Minnesota Vikings drafted him in the fifth round in 2021 out of Iowa. But the 6-1, 185-pounder was the NFL’s second-leading receiver during the preseason with 195 yards and two touchdowns on just nine catches (a 21.7-yard average).
The New Jersey native has only five regular-season kick returns in 16 regular-season games. But Smith-Marsette was a dangerous returner at Iowa, where he averaged 28.7 yards per return with two touchdowns and won the Big Ten’s return specialists award in 2018. He was second in the country that season with an average of 29.3 yards per return.
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Reich said wide receiver Adam Thielen gave the Panthers “inside information” about Smith-Marsette after the two were together in Minnesota.
“He’s a really good route runner, very good hands. I know he’s a smart guy,” Reich said. “If you’re on our roster, you need to be able to play all three positions because we move guys around a lot.”
Panthers 53-man roster
Quarterback (3): Bryce Young, Andy Dalton, Matt Corral
Running back (3): Miles Sanders, Chuba Hubbard, Raheem Blackshear
Wide receiver (7): Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, Jonathan Mingo, Laviska Shenault, Terrace Marshall, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Derek Wright
Tight end (5): Hayden Hurst, Ian Thomas, Tommy Tremble, Giovanni Ricci, Stephen Sullivan
Offensive line (8): Ikem Ekwonu, Brady Christensen, Bradley Bozeman, Taylor Moton, Chandler Zavala, Nash Jensen, Cade Mays, Ricky Lee
Interior defensive line (5): Derrick Brown, DeShawn Williams, Shy Tuttle, LaBryan Ray, Nick Thurman
Edge (6): Brian Burns, Justin Houston, Marquis Haynes, Yetur Gross-Matos, DJ Johnson, Amaré Barno
Inside linebacker (4): Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Chandler Wooten
Cornerback (4): Jaycee Horn, Donte Jackson, Troy Hill, C.J. Henderson
Safety (5): Xavier Woods, Vonn Bell, Jeremy Chinn, Jammie Robinson, Sam Franklin
Specialists (3): Eddy Pineiro, Johnny Hekker, J.J. Jansen
(Top photo of Ihmir Smith-Marsette: Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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