The Carolina Panthers began padded practices yesterday after announcing a series of offensive roster moves on Sunday. The team picked up wide receivers Tommylee Lewis and Marken Michel plus tight end Andrew Vollert. To make room, they cut DeAndrew White, Cam Sutton and two rookie linebackers.
More releases will be coming soon. Let’s take a look at the next potential five cuts on defense.
DE Myles Adams
As an undrafted rookie, Adams already had a difficult road to make the 53-man roster this year. Things got more complicated on Monday when the Panthers claimed former Cowboys defensive end Jalen Jelks off waivers. Early-round picks like Yetur Gross-Matos are assured their spots, but Adams doesn’t have that advantage built in for him. He will need to separate himself from the rest if he’s going to survive the next round of cuts.
DT Woodrow Hamilton
Hamilton is not a rookie. He has other factors working against him, though. For one thing, he’s a product of the previous coaching staff. Signing Hamilton in November of 2019 was one of the last transactions the team made before Ron Rivera was fired. Also, while he technically has pro experience Hamilton has only played a grand total of 47 snaps in the regular season, all of which came in 2016 with the Patriots. The Panthers also recently picked up former Eagles DT Bruce Hector off waivers, which puts more pressure on Hamilton and the other interior linemen at the bottom of the depth chart.
LB David Reese
Reese is another college free agent who will suffer a lot as a result of having no preseason games to prove himself. Tahir Whitehead, Jermaine Carter and Jordan Kunaszyk all have more experience, so it will be tough for Reese to crack that inside linebacker rotation. The other remaining rookies on the roster also have an edge over him. Sam Franklin has his connection with Matt Rhule from Temple and Chris Orr is a better pass rushing option.
CB Corn Elder
Elder is somewhat in the same boat as Woodrow Hamilton. Remember, he was first drafted by former general manager Dave Gettleman so he doesn’t have that influence in the front office, so to speak. More importantly, Elder could be crowded out in the competition to replace Javien Elliott as the team’s starting slot cornerback. Rookies Jeremy Chinn and Troy Pride Jr. can both play that spot and are getting reps at multiple positions. There’s no chance he will beat either one of them out, so Elder will have to find another way to justify his roster spot.
DB Myles Hartsfield
Carolina’s secondary needs all the help it can get and Hartsfield has the benefit of being able to play either safety or cornerback. However, he’s another undrafted rookie trying to make a team with a deck that’s somewhat stacked against him. His main competition to make the roster is likely cornerback Derrek Thomas, who has been in the league a year already and also has a connection to the head coach. On the bright side, Hartsfield is a strong candidate to be one of the four protected practice squad players.
