Panthers roster cuts live blog: Carolina waive 17 players in initial purge
The Carolina Panthers need to cut their roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
With the NFL-mandated deadline fewer than 24 hours away, Carolina will make more than three dozen moves in short order.
The Observer is tracking all of the movement in this live blog.
(Note: This live blog was used on Monday. Check out Tuesday’s live blog here.)
Panthers make 18 cuts official, including Wright’s release
The Panthers released kicker Matthew Wright on Monday as part of the team’s initial purge. Wright’s release was announced by the Panthers, along with the waiving of 17 other players, following a busy day of transactions for the franchise.
Along with Wright’s departure, the Panthers made the following 17 cuts official with an announcement:
- QB Jack Plummer
- QB Bryce Perkins
- RB Emani Bailey
- RB Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams
- WR Jacolby George
- WR Kobe Hudson
- WR T.J. Luther
- TE Dominique Dafney
- G Luke Kandra
- G Steven Loyosa
- ILB Jacoby Windmon
- OLB J.J. Weaver
- CB Tre Swilling
- CB JaTravis Broughton
- CB Mello Dotson
- S Jack Henderson
- S Isaac Gifford
The team also released tight end Tyler Mabry off the injured reserve list. However, Mabry didn’t count against the roster because he was already on injured reserve. Mabry was placed on IR to make room for Perkins, who was waived as part of the initial departure group.
The Panthers’ roster sits at 73 players as of Monday evening.
Running back waived among initial group of departures
The Panthers’ running back room got a little lighter amid Carolina’s initial roster purge.
The team waived running back Emani Bailey on Monday, a league source told The Observer.
Bailey spent the final month of last season on the team’s practice squad. He was brought back this offseason and got some work with one of the team’s most crowded position rooms.
In three preseason games this summer, Bailey collected 10 carries for 29 yards. He also caught one pass for 4 yards.
Bailey’s waiving brought the roster down to 84 players.
Tight end waived in Panthers’ roster purge
The Panthers waived tight end Dominique Dafney on Monday, a league source told The Observer.
The move brought the roster down to 85 players.
Dafney spent part of last season on the Carolina practice squad and returned this summer to compete for a depth job. He was buried behind the likes of Ja’Tavion Sanders, James Mitchell and rookie Mitchell Evans on the depth chart during camp.
With Tommy Tremble returning from the PUP list last week, Dafney’s odds of sticking around went from slim to none. However, he could return on the practice squad if he passes through waivers.
Panthers move on from another rookie wideout
Another rookie wide receiver has been released from the squad. The Panthers waived wide receiver Kobe Hudson on Monday, a league source confirmed to The Observer. Joe Person of The Athletic was first with the report.
Hudson finished the preseason with two catches on three targets for 12 yards. The Central Florida graduate and undrafted rookie is now able to be claimed by other teams on the waiver wire.
Such is the latest cut in the Panthers’ crowded receiver room, which theoretically has eight players vying for five to seven spots. Those eight: Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen, Jalen Coker, Hunter Renfrow, Jimmy Horn Jr., David Moore and Brycen Tremayne. Rookie Jacolby George was cut Monday, too.
Carolina moves on from rookie WR, two DBs
The Panthers continued their roster reduction with a trio of cuts on Monday afternoon.
The team informed safety Jack Henderson, cornerback Tre Swilling and wide receiver Jacolby George that they’ll be waived as part of the roster cut-down process, a league source told The Observer.
Henderson and George were among the large group of rookies who signed with the team after the draft. Henderson, who finished his college career at Minnesota, and George, who played his entire college career at Miami, were buried on the depth chart. Swilling, who arrived after the start of camp, was a deep depth player as well.
Swilling, 26, had played for five other NFL teams before joining the team this summer. Like George and Henderson, Swilling will be subject to waivers. All three players could have the opportunity to return on the practice squad on Monday.
Panthers waive second-year QB
Carolina began its roster reduction Monday. The team waived second-year QB Jack Plummer to begin the roster purge, a league source confirmed to The Observer.
Plummer, who was signed as an undrafted rookie last year, appeared in all three preseason games this summer. He completed 23 of 38 passes for 210 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.
Plummer spent the majority of last season on the Panthers’ practice squad. He was elevated to the main roster a couple of times as a rookie but never appeared in a game. He could re-join the practice squad Wednesday if he clears waviers.
Plummer’s cut put the roster at 90 players, including international exemption player, Mapalo Mwansa.
The deadline numbers to know
- 0: The Panthers no longer have any players on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list. TE Tommy Tremble (back) was taken off the list before the preseason finale on Thursday. Had Tremble stayed on the list through the cut deadline, he would have missed at least four games on the reserve/PUP list.
- 1: RB Jonathan Brooks (knee) was placed on the reserve/PUP list prior to training camp. The move effectively ended his season before it even started. Players placed on the reserve/PUP list before the cut-down deadline are ruled out for the rest of the season, similar to the season-ending injured reserve list. Brooks is the only player ruled out for the season on the reserve/PUP list. He counts against the team’s roster until Tuesday’s deadline.
- 2: Teams can place two players on the injured reserve list with return designations before the cut deadline. If a player is given a return designation, he must sit out at least four games to begin the season. From there, he can have his 21-day practice window activated and return to the field.
- 4: While the bulk of the Panthers’ roster moves will feature the waiving of young players, the team will need to outright release vested veterans. A vested veteran is a player with four or more accrued seasons of NFL experience, and those players are not subject to waivers prior to the NFL trade deadline in November. Players with three or less seasons of accrued experience are subject to waivers and can be claimed by another team. Vested veterans become free agents once their releases are processed on the league’s transactions report.
- 6: Last year, the Panthers claimed six players following the cut deadline. Carolina had No. 1 priority on the waiver wire, and the team took advantage of having the top claim. The squad claimed G Jarrett Kingston, CB Shemar Bartholomew, CB Keenan Isaac, CB Tariq Castro-Fields, ILB Jon Rhattigan and OLB Jamie Sheriff after the initial cut on the waiver wire. Kingston, Bartholomew and Rhattigan lasted with the team throughout the season and into this year’s training camp. All three are currently on the roster bubble.
- 8: The Panthers own the eighth overall claim in the waiver wire pecking order this summer. That means that seven teams have dibs over Carolina. So, if one of those teams (or more) claims the same player as the Panthers, the player would go to the higher-seeded claim instead of Carolina. The Tennessee Titans own the top claim status after finishing with the roster record in the league last year.
- 17: The Panthers — following the waiver-wire period that concludes on Wednesday at noon — can begin to build their practice squad. The practice roster can feature 16 standard players and one international exemption player. OLB Mapalo Mwansa, who is from Peterborough, England, is eligible for the International Pathway Program exemption as a foreign-born player.
- 38: The Panthers’ roster, entering Monday, is at 91 players. The team will need to make 38 roster reductions by the Tuesday afternoon deadline. Those moves can be made through waivers, releases, trades and the injured reserve list.
- 53: Starting ta 4 p.m. Tuesday., all NFL teams will face a 53-man limit on their main roster. This roster limit will stay intact through the postseason. Teams must subtract from their active roster in order to add more players.
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
