Five takeaways from the Panthers’ 53-man roster and how the depth chart may shake out
Week 1 of the regular season begins on Thursday night. The Panthers’ roster is now down to 53 players, and while it will be constantly evolving as cuts, waiver claims and moves continue throughout the weekend, the large part of the roster is now in place.
On the initial 53-man roster, the Panthers have only 23 players remaining from last year’s initial roster. The team did not waive any of this year’s draft picks and kept three undrafted free agents — punter Joe Charlton (a former Gamecock), linebacker Sam Franklin and defensive back Myles Hartsfield.
Some takeaways from the initial cuts:
Help is needed: The Panthers’ roster is far from complete. Three of the five tight ends who were on the roster were waived or released leaving just Ian Thomas, who is dealing with a toe injury, and Chris Manhertz on the roster. General manager Marty Hurney and the Panthers’ front office were not pleased with the tight end production on the roster, but the position will absolutely be addressed. The team felt comfortable enough with the players that other teams were releasing to let go of all three tight ends.
One to keep an eye on? Quarterback/tight end Tommy Stevens, who was released by the Saints on Saturday. The Panthers were interested in signing him as an undrafted free agent.
Carolina also will likely address the secondary. There is not a significant amount of depth or experience at cornerback and they could use help at safety. The front office has been inquiring about available players and could address the needs on waivers. Another position to keep in mind is linebacker. The position has been lacking in depth since Luke Kuechly retired in January, and there hasn’t been much improvement.
RB Mike Davis’ performance in camp won him the backup job: The Panthers parted ways with third-year running back Reggie Bonnafon, who had a few nice moments during the 2019 season. While he had only 16 carries all season, one of his carries was a 59-yard touchdown.
But that run alone not was not enough to make the Panthers’ 2020 53-man roster.
Bonnafon wasn’t bad in camp, but he didn’t particularly stand out. The Panthers opted to keep three running backs on their roster — Christian McCaffrey, Davis and Trenton Cannon.
“Mike Davis has had one of the best camps of anybody,” Rhule said Thursday.
It wasn’t the first time Rhule mentioned Davis. He’s raved about Davis’ professionalism as well. From a football standpoint, Davis adds a different dimension to Carolina’s running game. At 5-9, 220 pounds, he runs with power, which complements McCaffrey’s speed. The Panthers don’t want to overuse McCaffrey, so it appears Davis may get his touches.
Cannon made the roster, in part, because of his ability to play special teams. The 5-11, 185-pound running back appeared in all 16 games with the Jets in 2018. He had 17 catches for 144 yards, one rushing touchdown, five kick returns for 98 yards and nine tackles. He missed 12 games in 2019 because of foot and ankle injuries.
The Panthers’ coaching staff has put an emphasis on players who can be versatile and play multiple positions. That is what Cannon adds.
Panthers decided to keep three QBs instead of two: While the winner of the battle for the backup quarterback has not been officially revealed, we do know that the Panthers are keeping all three quarterbacks.
Until Saturday, there was some uncertainty whether the Panthers were going to keep two or three on the roster. Teddy Bridgewater was always going to the starter, but the battle between Will Grier and P.J. Walker was fairly close.
And Rhule has often said he likes what Grier and Walker bring to the Panthers.
He called them “win-with” quarterbacks, and said if either needed to sub for Bridgewater, he felt they could win them games.
Having three quarterbacks on the roster this season has never been more important, especially with the uncertainty of COVID-19.
And the Panthers certainly didn’t want to lose either to the waiver wire.
Two Joe(y)‘s kicking footballs: Kicker/punter Kaare Vedvik was waived in favor of Joe Charlton. Along with kicker Joey Slye, the Panthers now have two young players at the kicking positions. Neither looked perfect in training camp, but Slye was consistent and Charlton seemed to improve as camp went on. It will be very interesting to see how both perform this year. Slye will need to be more consistent than last season. The team put a lot of faith in him by cutting Graham Gano before camp even began. Charlton, on the other hand, will have a chance to prove he can be a long-term fix.
Watch for Vedvik to be a practice squad contender if he is not claimed on waivers. Makes a lot of sense to have someone who can kick and punt on there.
It’s almost game time: The Panthers are hosting the Las Vegas Raiders in practically a week. This is a young team with 30 new faces, in addition to the new coaching staff, and on the defensive side of the ball especially, there are many unproven players. After a lot of talk about how this team will look with Joe Brady calling plays and multiple rookies starting on defense, this is the roster — with a few changes to come — that the Panthers will be going with. With nine players 22 or younger, this roster will be tested early and often. Buckle up for an interesting season.
Matt Rhule’s first game as head coach is a week away, and while there has not been a depth chart made public, there have been indicators of who will be starting vs. the Raiders.
Here’s our 53-man roster projection (some players are listed twice at multiple positions):
Quarterback: Teddy Bridgewater, Will Grier, P.J. Walker
Running back: Christian McCaffrey, Mike Davis, Trenton Cannon
Fullback: Alex Armah
Wide receiver: DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, Curtis Samuel, Seth Roberts, Pharoh Cooper, Brandon Zylstra, Keith Kirkwood (when healthy)
Tight end: Ian Thomas, Chris Manhertz,
Left tackle: Russell Okung, Greg Little, Dennis Daley
Left guard: Dennis Daley, Michael Schofield, Tyler Larsen
Center: Matt Paradis, Tyler Larsen
Right guard: John Miller, Michael Schofield Tyler Larsen
Right tackle: Taylor Moton, Michael Schofield, Matt Kaskey
Defensive tackle: Kawann Short, Derrick Brown, Zach Kerr, Bravvion Roy
Defensive end: Brian Burns, Yetur Gross-Matos, Stephen Weatherly, Marquis Haynes, Efe Obada
Linebacker: Shaq Thompson, Tahir Whitehead, Adarius Taylor, Jeremy Chinn, Jermaine Carter, Julian Stanford, Sam Franklin
Cornerback: Donte Jackson, Troy Pride Jr., Eli Apple, Jeremy Chinn, Corn Elder, Myles Hartfield, Stantley Thomas-Oliver
Safety: Tre Boston, Juston Burris, Jeremy Chinn, Kenny Robinson, Myles Hartfield
Specialists: K Joey Slye, P Joe Charlton, LS J.J. Jansen
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 6:37 PM.
