Carolina Panthers make cuts, unveil initial 53-man roster

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tuesday is one of the most dreaded days in the NFL. By 4 p.m., all teams must cut their roster from 90 to 53 players.

Carolina Panthers Head Coach Dave Canales said they planned to have one-on-one conversations with each cut player.

The most difficult, he said, will be at wide receiver, which he called the "strongest group we have on this team."

Diontae Johnson, acquired in an offseason trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Adam Thielen are the projected starters, but the team is also high on first-round draft pick Xavier Legette from South Carolina and former second-round picks Jonathan Mingo and Terrace Marshall after both had strong camps.

Marshall was the odd man out.

Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette is coming off a good season and has looked solid as a returner, but is dealing with a foot injury that could complicate his status. He's expected to meet with a medical specialist this week.

"That group showed up at this camp, and they all to a man did something that got our attention," Canales said. "We have to definitely look at the whole roster and say, how many can we afford to keep in that position?"

Panthers cuts

Waived-injured: DT Junior Aho, OT Tyler Smith.

Waived: DT Ulumoo Ale, G Jack Anderson, LB Aaron Beasley, CB Dicaprio Bootle, G Mason Brooks, S Alex Cook, OT Jeremiah Crawford, CB Willie Drew, OLB Kenny Dyson, TE Feleipe Franks, OT Ricky Lee, WR Terrace Marshall Jr., OLB Derrick McLendon, CB Quandre Mosely, DT Walter Palmore, WR Sam Pinckney, QB Jack Plummer, RB Jaden Shirden, DT TJ Smith, WR Mike Strachan, OLB Luiji Vilain, CB Chris Wilcox, LB Chandler Wooten.

Released (vested veterans): G Ike Boettger, RB Mike Boone, S Rudy Ford, TE Jacob Hollister, TE Jesper Horsted, TE Jordan Matthews.

Reserve/physically unable to perform: OLB Amare Barno, OLB DJ Wonnum.

Reserve/non-football injury: RB Jonathon Brooks.

Injured reserve (designated for return): CB Dane Jackson, S Sam Franklin.

Injured reserve: LB Tae Davis, OLB Cam Gill.

Panthers' initial 53-man roster

OFFENSE

OL (10): Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Austin Corbett, Robert Hunt, Taylor Moton, Brady Christensen, Chandler Zavala, Andrew Raym, Cade Mays, Yosh Nijman.

TE (3): Tommy Tremble, Ja'Tavion Sanders, Ian Thomas

WR (7): Adam Thielen, Diontae Johnson, Jonathan Mingo, Xavier Legette, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, David Moore, Jalen Coker.

RB (3): Chuba Hubbard, Miles Sanders, Raheem Blackshear.

QB (2): Bryce Young, Andy Dalton.

DEFENSE

DL (7): Derrick Brown, Shy Tuttle, A'Shawn Robinson, Nick Thurman, LaBryan Ray, Jaden Crumedy, Jayden Peevy.

OLB (4): Jadeveon Clowney, DJ Johnson, K'Lavon Chaisson, Eku Leota.

ILB (4): Shaq Thompson, Josey Jewell, Claudin Cherelus, Trevin Wallace.

CB (5): Jaycee Horn, Michael Jackson, Troy Hill, D'Shawn Jamison, Chau Smith-Wade

S (5): Xavier Woods, Jordan Fuller, Nick Scott, Jammie Robinson, Demani Richardson.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Eddy Piñeiro
P Johnny Hekker
LS JJ Jansen.

The Panthers' first game is Sept. 8 at New Orleans. The first home game is Sept. 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Notable Cuts Around the League

Kansas City receiver Kadarius Toney and Tennessee cornerback Caleb Farley, both first-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft, were among the cuts Tuesday as teams trimmed their rosters for the regular season.

Toney, who figured to be on the roster bubble, was on his second team since the New York Giants drafted him 20th overall three years ago. The Titans took Farley two picks later.

The 25-year-old never played last season. The Titans kept him on the physically unable to perform list after his father was killed last August in an explosion that destroyed Farley's home in Mooresville.

Jacksonville released eight-year veteran quarterback C.J. Beathard with an injury designation, presumably clearing the way for Mac Jones to back up Trevor Lawrence.

Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was cut by the Chiefs after re-signing with them following his release by the Patriots this month.

The Vikings waived safety Lewis Cine, the final pick of the first round two years ago in the first draft directed by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Cine badly broke his leg on special teams in a game early in his rookie year and never made much traction on the depth chart last season. He played a total of 10 defensive snaps in two seasons.

The Browns released running back D'Onta Foreman, who overcame a scary neck injury in training camp. With former NC State star Nyheim Hines on the non-football injury list, the Browns currently have only Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. at running back.

Washington released veteran receiver Martavis Bryant, who is in his second season of trying to end a long hiatus from the NFL.

Green Bay waived kicker Anders Carlson a year after drafting him in the sixth round. He was supposed to replace Mason Crosby but had a disappointing rookie year. Greg Joseph is the only kicker on the roster.

Miami cut third-string quarterback Mike White, who started seven games for the New York Jets in 2021-22.

Safety Ronnie Harrison (Colts), linebacker Deion Jones (Bills), running backs Matt Breida (49ers), Joshua Kelley (Giants) and Boston Scott (Rams), quarterbacks Ben DiNucci (Bills), Matt Corral (Vikings) and Ian Book (Chiefs), wide receivers Sterling Shepard (Buccaneers) and Greg Ward (Colts) and defensive back Terrell Edmunds (Jaguars) also were cut.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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