The NFL roster deadline has arrived, and the Carolina Panthers have their first active roster of the 2025 season.
Charlotte’s NFL franchise made dozens of moves before 4 p.m. Tuesday after waiving 17 players and releasing kicker Matthew Wright on Monday to meet the league-mandated 53-man roster limit.
See the full roster, as well as all the movement throughout Tuesday, below.
Carolina Panthers 53-man roster
Here’s the Panthers’ initial 53-man roster for the 2025 season. Players in italics are rookies.
Read more here for analysis on the many decisions the Panthers’ front office made Tuesday afternoon.
Quarterbacks (2): Bryce Young, Andy Dalton
Running backs (3): Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, Trevor Etienne
Wide receivers (7): Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen, Jalen Coker, Jimmy Horn Jr., David Moore, Brycen Tremayne
Tight ends (4): Ja’Tavion Sanders, Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, James Mitchell
Offensive line (9): Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Austin Corbett, Robert Hunt, Taylor Moton, Brady Christensen, Cade Mays, Chandler Zavala, Yosh Nijman
Defensive line (6): Derrick Brown, Bobby Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, Tershawn Wharton, Cam Jackson, Jaden Crumedy
Inside linebacker (4): Trevin Wallace, Christian Rozeboom, Claudin Cherelus, Bam Martin-Scott
Outside linebacker (6): Patrick Jones, DJ Wonnum, Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen, Thomas Incoom, DJ Johnson
Cornerback (5): Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, Chau Smith-Wade, Corey Thornton, Akayleb Evans
Safety (4): Tre’von Moehrig, Lathan Ransom, Demani Richardson, Nick Scott
Special teams (3): JJ Jansen, Sam Martin, Ryan Fitzgerald
Injured reserve (designated to return): DL LaBryan Ray (ankle)
Reserved / PUP list: Jonathon Brooks
The Panthers’ moves
The Panthers got down to the 53-man limit around 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
In order to do so, they made several moves official and announced a few more.
Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow and linebacker Jon Rhattigan were released as vested veterans. Neither will be subject to waivers. Guard Ja’Tyre Carter (ankle) was waived with an injury designation and will revert to the Panthers’ injured reserve if not claimed.
The team also waived outside linebacker Maz Mwansa, cornerback Shemar Bartholmew, guard Jarrett Kingston, and defensive tackle Jared Harrison-Hunte.
Defensive end LaBryan Ray was placed on injured reserve with a return designation. He will need to miss at least the first four games of the season.
Veteran inside linebacker cut by team
The Panthers are moving on from Krys Barnes, according to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The 6-foot-2, 229-pound inside linebacker was signed by the team a few days into training camp.
Barnes, 27, was lauded by the coaching staff for his leadership this camp even though he only had a few weeks with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s scheme. Barnes had previous stops with the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals before landing in Carolina. Barnes has five seasons of NFL experience, so he is not subject to the waiver wire.
Panthers release former starter, save cap space
The Carolina Panthers are moving on from a former starter on defense.
The team plans to release defensive tackle Shy Tuttle on Tuesday, a league source confirmed. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first report the move.
Tuttle, a Lexington native, originally signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract with the team in 2023.
Tuttle, 29, agreed to a pay cut this offseason to stick with Carolina for the third and final season of his deal. However, with the addition of free agents Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown, and draft pick Cam Jackson joining the roster, Tuttle was dropped from the depth chart into a rotational role.
Ultimately, the Panthers decided to release Tuttle, opening up $2.4 million in salary cap space for the upcoming season, according to Over the Cap. (read more)
OT sent to waivers
The Panthers waived offensive tackle Brandon Walton on Tuesday, a league source told The Observer. Walton had been competing for a depth job with the likes of Chandler Zavala, Jarrett Kingston and Ja’Tyre Carter this summer.
Walton has worked with offensive line coach Joe Gilbert since both were in Tampa Bay. Walton is likely to be back on the practice squad if he passes through waivers, especially given his background with the staff, including head coach Dave Canales.
Defensive tackle Sam Roberts waived
The Panthers are waiving defensive lineman Sam Roberts, according to a report from NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound has three years of NFL experience, meaning he still must clear waivers if the Panthers want him to return to the team’s practice squad.
The NW Missouri State University alum finished the preseason with one tackle.
Panthers make more room in cluttered receiving corps
The Panthers entered Tuesday with plenty of work to do along their receiving corps. And they got started Tuesday morning.
The team waived wide receiver Ja’seem Reed, according to a league source. Joe Person at The Athletic had it first. Reed signed with Carolina a few days into training camp after the team released receiver Dan Chisena with an injury settlement.
Reed had several hills to climb when attempting to make the Panthers’ 53-man roster. The Panthers have several decisions to make at wideout, with eight guys ostensibly competing for five to seven spots. Those eight: Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen, Jalen Coker, Hunter Renfrow, David Moore, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Brycen Tremayne.
Reed, an undrafted rookie out of the University of San Diego, is a prime practice squad candidate if he clears waivers.
Diontae Johnson, a notable former Panther, on the move again
It doesn’t seem all that long ago when the Dave Canales offense in Carolina was going to run through Diontae Johnson, who the Panthers traded for in the 2024 offseason.
Since then, the former Pro Bowl wide receiver has been moved seven times— the last of which came Tuesday morning, according to NFL Network, when the Cleveland Browns released him after signing him in late April.
Since March 2024, Johnson has played with the Steelers, Panthers, Ravens, Texans and Browns. He finished 2024 with 33 catches for 375 yards and three touchdowns — with almost all of that production coming in seven games played in Carolina.
Outside linebacker cut by the Panthers
The Panthers have said that they like who they have at the top of their EDGE rusher depth chart and doubled down on those words Tuesday morning.
The team released outside linebacker Boogie Basham, a league source confirmed to The Observer ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler had the news first. The former Wake Forest star and second-round pick with the Buffalo Bills landed in Carolina this spring. He finished the preseason with four tackles.
The Panthers added a lot of promising talent in their pass rushing corps this offseason. They drafted Princely Umanmielen and Nic Scourton, added Patrick Jones II via free agency and saw the emergence of Thomas Incoom this summer. That’s all on top of the return of a healthy DJ Wonnum.
Another key OLB to watch out for is DJ Johnson. The Panthers’ third-round pick in 2023 has battled injury this camp and needed to make a statement following two years mostly learning from the sideline.
Panthers make a move at safety
The Panthers have waived safety Trevian Thomas, according to a league source. The undrafted rookie finished the preseason with six tackles and now will be subject to the waiver wire.
Thomas, out of Arkansas State, was considered the fifth safety on the depth chart behind Nick Scott, Demani Richardson, Tre’Von Moehrig and rookie Lathan Ransom. There’s a strong possibility the team sticks with those four at the position on the active roster; all got meaningful playing time in the preseason and received high marks from the coaching staff.
Thomas is a prime candidate to return to the team’s practice squad, should he clear waivers.
Rookie cornerback headed to waivers
The Panthers waived rookie cornerback Mike Reid as part of Tuesday’s purge, a league source told The Observer.
Reid, an undrafted first-year player, could be back on the practice squad after showing versatility as a defensive back throughout the summer.
Reid had been competing with the likes of Shemar Bartholomew, Akayleb Evans and fellow undrafted rookie Corey Thornton for a spot on the 53-man roster. Bartholomew, Evans and Thornton remain following Reid’s waiving.
OL room gets lighter
The Panthers only need to make 17 more roster moves on Tuesday.
The team cut its roster down to 70 players with the waiving of rookie offensive tackle Michael Tarquin, according to a league source. The Athletic was the first to report the move.
The Panthers are expected to keep nine or 10 offensive linemen on their 53-man roster. With Tarquin’s waiving, the group is now down to 12 players.
Linemen likely remaining on the bubble are Brandon Walton, Yosh Nijman Jarrett Kingston, Ja’Tyre Carter and Chandler Zavala.
Panthers waive incumbent kick returner
The Panthers narrowed down their running back depth chart Tuesday at the cost of their longtime kick returner.
The team waived fourth-year running back Raheem Blackshear, a league source told The Observer. The move gives the Panthers three running backs on their current roster: Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle and Trevor Etienne.
That trio is what The Observer projected to be the running back stable for this season.
Blackshear will be subject to waivers. During his three seasons with the Panthers, Blackshear produced 203 rushing yards, 138 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 26.3 yards per return on kickoffs and 8.7 yards per return on punts.
The Panthers are expected to use Etienne as their primary kick returner, while the punt returner job seems a bit cloudier entering the cut deadline.
Kicker situation becomes a bit clearer
With Wright’s release, rookie Ryan Fitzgerald became the lone kicker left on the roster heading into Tuesday.
Fitzgerald made all three of his field-goal attempts during the preseason, while Wright missed his lone, 55-yard attempt against the Houston Texans. Wright, unlike Fitzgerald, didn’t see the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the team’s preseason finale on Thursday.
While Wright’s departure was encouraging news for Fitzgerald, onlookers shouldn’t run to announce a winner of the kicking competition just yet. Fitzgerald needs to wait out the waiver wire on Wednesday to feel good about his standing.
On Friday, head coach Dave Canales hinted at the possibility of the Panthers looking elsewhere for a specialist.
“I feel very confident in both guys,” Canales said about Wright and Fitzgerald. “But I also know there are good kickers out there. But just like every other position, I think we start with the information we have, and then we gotta look at the whole thing, just like we’re going to do with every other position. We gotta look at who’s all out there and how do they stack up? In terms of accuracy in the kicking game — field goals and PATs — and also what guys can bring to us in the kickoff setting. And all that. So that’s going to be a part of these conversations coming up.”
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Steelers plan to waive kicker Ben Sauls if he can’t be traded. Sauls made all four of his field-goal attempts against the Panthers on Thursday.
In February, prior to the draft, The Observer asked Sauls about the possibility of playing for the Panthers with veterans at long snapper and punter. The left-footed kicker said he was intrigued by the opportunity to learn from JJ Jansen and Sam Martin.
“I know I’m a rookie, so I don’t know everything,” Pittsburgh kicker Ben Sauls said. “So to go in there with a vet, a veteran snapper or holder — older guys with more wisdom than me — I just want to pick their brains and learn, of course. And then together, obviously, I hope that we can all be in agreement to be the best. That’s my goal. My goal is to crack a spot (on the roster) and be the best.”
WRs, DBs among the early cuts for Panthers
The Panthers waived the following 17 players on Monday:
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 Panthers also released tight end Tyler Mabry off injured reserve. However, since he was on IR, he didn’t count against the roster limit.