Carolina Panthers 53-Man Roster Projection Ahead of Preseason Finale: Difficult choices still linger for Dave Canales and Dan Morgan
The Carolina Panthers have a few more days of practice and one preseason game left to finalize the 53-man roster ahead of Sunday’s cutdown deadline. Tough decisions remain for Dave Canales and Dan Morgan.
The Carolina Panthers have a few more days of practice (including the scheduled joint practice with the Houston Texans) and one more preseason game left to decide who will make the initial 53-man roster going into the 2026 regular season.
General manager Dan Morgan noted that he’s been in constant communication with his player personnel staff along with Dave Canales and his coaching staff evaluating what this initial roster will look like.
Plenty of tough decisions still remain including how many WRs will the Panthers keep, who’s the odd man out at TE, should the Panthers keep four RBs, and others. So, let me take a stab at it and give my final projection ahead of Sunday’s cutdown.
Note: Players with a single asterisk (*) are 2026 draft picks and players with double asterisks (**) are 2026 undrafted free agents.
When are 53-man roster cuts in the NFL in 2026?
NFL teams must trim their active rosters down to 53 players by Sunday, August 30 at 6 p.m. ET. This is earlier than in previous years and will allow teams to begin forming their 53-man roster directly after their final preseason game.
- Waiver Claims Period: Teams must submit waiver claims for released players by Monday, August 31, at 1:00 p.m. CT.
- Practice Squad Creation: Teams may begin forming their 16-man practice squads as soon as waiver claims are processed the following Monday.
Carolina Panthers 2026 53-Man Roster Projection
Quarterbacks: 3
- Bryce Young
- Kenny Pickett
- Haynes King**
- Out: Kyle Trask
Keeping things status quo at the quarterback position. Bryce Young has a big year coming up to prove he deserves a new extension to remain this team’s franchise quarterback for years to come. Behind him, Kenny Pickett has looked serviceable enough throughout the preseason while Haynes King shined in the Hall of Fame game and has since been sidelined with a hamstring injury. All three quarterbacks should make the cut.
Running Backs: 4
- Chuba Hubbard
- Jonathon Brooks
- AJ Dillon
- Trevor Etienne
- Out: Miles Davis and Anthony Tytus III
This is going to be one of the big questions I previously brought up. Personally, I believe all four backs deserve a spot on this roster. Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks will be your one-two punch while Trevor Etienne brings special teams and return value. AJ Dillon has showed off his chops on teams as well and brings a physical style to the backfield that can be used in short-yardage/goal-line situations. You can’t not keep Dillon.
Wide Receivers: 6
- Tetairoa McMillan
- Jalen Coker
- Xavier Legette
- Ja’seem Reed
- Jimmy Horn Jr.
- Brycen Tremayne
- Out: David Moore, John Metchie III, Roc Taylor, Casey Washington, Elijah Cooks
Note: Chris Brazzell II* will spend the season on the IR
This is really where things get hard, especially for Dave Canales. The Panthers have their starting trio set with Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, and Xavier Legette. Behind those three is where things get interesting and there’s not enough numbers to keep seven.
Ja’seem Reed has earned his place on this roster for the impact he made the past few weeks. Brycen Tremayne is also a lock as a special teams and blocking ace. The question comes down to Jimmy Horn Jr., David Moore, and John Metchie III. Horn, to me, brings the most value out of the three with his speed and return ability. Moore, frankly doesn’t bring much outside of his history with Canales. Metchie is the toughest cut, but Bryce Young would be happy to know that he’s an easy practice squad candidate.
Tight Ends: 4
- Tommy Tremble
- Mitchell Evans
- Darren Waller
- Feleipe Franks
- Out: Ja’Tavion Sanders, James Mitchell, Caden Prieskorn
Darren Waller was brought in last week to be the main competition for Ja’Tavion Sanders and we will finally see him in action later this week during the joint practice. Mike Kaye of ESPN brought up a good point about how the Panthers could release Waller and eventually bring him back while avoiding waivers, which gives you a spot on the initial roster for another player before adding Waller back.
I do see that being necessary. Sanders needs to go and Waller will earn his place on the roster later this week. As for Feleipe Franks, he made a solid push last week and has special teams value.
Offensive Line: 8
- Rasheed Walker (LT)
- Damien Lewis (LG)
- Luke Fortner (C)
- Robert Hunt (RG)
- Monroe Freeling* (RT)
- Jake Curhan
- Brady Christensen
- Sam Hecht*
- Out: Stone Forsythe, Chandler Zavala, Nick Samac, Ja’Tyre Carter, Isaia Glass, Albert Reese, Ryan Hayes
Note: Ickey Ekwonu and Taylor Moton are projected to begin the season on the PUP list.
The Panthers have their starting five set and honestly have some solid depth options once everyone is actually healthy. I also think the preseason games cleared up a lot of the depth in this room heading into cutdown day.
Chandler Zavala, for example, has no place on this roster anymore and I’m not convinced Stone Forsythe will stick around either over Jake Curhan. Brady Christensen gives Carolina a depth option at both guard positions and Ikem Ekwonu could even get a look at guard once he recovers from his patellar tendon injury.
Defensive Line: 5
- Derrick Brown (DE)
- Lee Hunter* (DT)
- Bobby Brown III (DE)
- Cam Jackson
- Aaron Hall**
- Out: Kyon Barrs, Elijah Garcia, Jared Harrison-Hunte, Tywone Malone, Parker Petersen
Note: Tershawn Warton is projected to open the season on the PUP.
Rocking with five players on the interior with Cam Jackson getting the final spot while Tershawn Warton continues recovering from his neck surgery. Lee Hunter has some real promise, as does undrafted rookie Aaron Hall. This is still a solid room up-front.
Outside Linebackers: 5
- Jaelan Phillips
- Patrick Jones II
- Princley Umanmielen
- Cam Gill
- Thomas Incoom
- Out: Trevis Gibson, Jeremiah Moon, Isaiah Smith
Note: Nic Scourton will spend the entire season on the IR
After the loss of Nic Scourton, things looked initially concerning for this group. However, Jaelan Phillips has looked like an absolute weapon and the best pass rusher the Panthers have had since Brian Burns. The depth options have also looked promising throughout the preseason. The tough decision is who gets left off the list between Cam Gill, Trevis Gibson, and Thomas Incoom?
Inside Linebackers: 5
- Devin Lloyd
- Trevin Wallace
- Jackson Kuwatch*
- Claudin Cherelus
- Bam Martin-Scott
- Out: Maema Njongmeta, Mapalo Mwansa
The Panthers are still watching the battle closely this week between Trevin Wallace and Claudin Cherelus to see who will start alongside Devin Lloyd in Week 1. I’m in the belief that the Panthers’ LB2 isn’t even in this building yet. For now, let’s keep both and also throw in Bam Martin-Scott, who is another special teams / depth piece to keep around.
Cornerbacks: 5
- Jaycee Horn
- Mike Jackson
- Will Lee II*
- Chau Smith-Wade
- Akayleb Evans
- Out: Corey Thornton, DeVonta Smith, Robert Rochell, Tyrek Funderburk, Cam Miller, DeCarlos Nicholson
The cornerback position has another intriguing battle to watch looking at the nickel position between Chau Smith-Wade, Corey Thornton, and DeVonta Smith. I only see one of those three making the cut with Akayleb Evans being another special teamer you keep.
Safeties: 5
- Tre’von Moehrig
- Nick Scott
- Zakee Wheatley*
- Lathan Ransom
- Isaiah Simmons
- Out: Demani Richardson
This is a near unanimous room in my eyes. You have your starting duo set and the two depth options behind them have looked really freaking good in the preseason. And then you have Isaiah Simmons, who again I lean toward keeping for special teams value alone.
Specialists: 3
- Ryan Fitzgerald (K)
- Sam Martin (P)
- JJ Jansen (LS)
As always, no change here for the special teamers.
