Cat Scratch Reader
The preseason has come and gone and with it are the opportunities for players to jump out in live game action. We didn’t get any true preseason stars this season, so the decisions for the final roster spots are going to come down to needs and what players showed during camp. A lot of the spots are pretty much set, but there are still decisions to be made.
Bryce Young, Andy Dalton
Nothing to see here. The Panthers will likely only carry two quarterbacks most games and will elevate either Jack Plummer or Bryce Perkins for game day should either of the two established quarterbacks have injury concerns on a given game day.
Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, Trevor Etienne
The Panthers leaned heavily on Hubbard last season with Miles Sanders being largely ineffective. Sanders departed for Dallas, and the Panthers brought in the guy he replaced. Dowdle should lessen the burden on Hubbard, while the team clearly has high hopes for Etienne as a change of pace back and returner.
Tetairoa McMillan, Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, Hunter Renfrow, Jimmy Horn Jr., Brycen Tremayne
This is the tough one. The Panthers actually have a deep room here for once. David Moore has had some moments and is an established veteran that the coaching staff clearly likes. Brycen Tremayne has earned some fans and the coaching staff sat him out for the last preseason game, which would be a weird move for a guy they didn’t plan on keeping. Seven wide receivers is a lot, but I don’t know who to cut from this group.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, James Mitchell
The Panthers have spent a few middle round picks to stock up at the tight end position, and it seems like all of those recent selections are locks to make the roster. James Mitchell has been impressive in camp and in the preseason. It’d normally be hard to justify keeping four tight ends on the roster, but Tremble might not be ready for Week 1, so there’s temporarily room for some extra depth.
Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Austin Corbett, Robert Hunt, Taylor Moton, Brady Christensen, Cade Mays, Yosh Nijman, Chandler Zavala
The starting five are locked in after a strong year together last year. Brady Christensen remains the do-it-all backup, while the team made a point to re-sign Mays despite having Corbett back as a starter. The backup offensive line has struggled in the preseason, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see some shakeups at the bottom of this group.
Derrick Brown, Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown III, A’Shawn Robinson, Cam Jackson, Shy Tuttle
I’m sure people would rather see a name other than Tuttle at the end of this list, but most coaching staffs like having veterans around. Jaden Crumedy and Jared Harrison-Hunte are also candidates for that last spot. The other five seem like pretty...
