The Carolina Panthers might not be done with their roster tinkering this week.
Following Tuesday’s cut to 53 players, the Panthers will dissect the post-deadline waiver wire to see if they can enhance the talent within their initial group ahead of Week 1.
In 2023, the Panthers claimed three players on the post-deadline wire. In 2024, they claimed six from other teams.
This year, the Panthers have the eighth overall priority when it comes to claiming new talent. With seven teams in front of them, they might not be able to grab all the players they are interested in.
Over the past two years, The Observer has accurately targeted a pair of potential options on the wire for the Panthers. In 2023, offensive tackle Calvin Throckmorton was identified as a potential target of interest and claimed by Carolina. Last year, cornerback Keenan Isaac was claimed after being featured on The Observer’s annual list.
Here is this year’s list of potential targets from the waiver wire:
(Note: The post-deadline waiver wire will be processed at noon on Wednesday.)
ILB Mark Robinson
The Panthers could use improved depth on defense and special teams. Robinson, who was cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, can offer help in both areas.
The fourth-year linebacker spent his first three seasons in Pittsburgh, mostly as a core special teams player. Robinson, a 2022 seventh-round pick, is a bit undersized at 5-foot-11 and 235 pounds, but he has 38 games (four starts) of experience.
Over the past two seasons, Robinson has played at least 66% of the Steelers’ overall special teams snaps. The Panthers could look at Robinson as a better-on-defense replacement for Jon Rhattigan, who was cut on Tuesday.
Robinson played 32 defensive snaps and four special teams snaps against the Panthers during the preseason finale at Bank of America Stadium last week. He produced three tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the exhibition matchup.
CB O’Donnell Fortune
Fortune, an undrafted rookie, was waived by the New York Giants on Friday.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back fits the Panthers’ mold of long and lanky cornerbacks. And after keeping just five corners through the initial 53-man roster, the Panthers might be inclined to add another to the bunch to enhance the numbers or replace a depth holdover.
Carolina should be quite familiar with Fortune. He practiced in front of several Carolina evaluators at the Shrine Bowl in January. He also performed at South Carolina’s pro day in March in front of GM Dan Morgan and several coaches and scouts from the organization. Fortune also worked out at the NFL Scouting Combine between those two other events.
Fortune, a Sumter, South Carolina, native, might benefit from playing closer to home. He also knows Jaycee Horn and Xavier Legette quite well from college.
While adding Fortune might seem redundant with Corey Thornton on the roster, the Panthers tend to covet length and height at the position, and they can use all the depth they can on the back end this year.
CB Damarri Mathis
The Panthers have been quick to add Ejiro Evero’s former pupils to their roster over the past three years. Mathis, waived this week by the Denver Broncos, played under Evero in 2022 as a rookie.
Mathis, listed as 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, has experience playing the perimeter and slot as a cornerback. Under Evero, Mathis played in 16 games (11 starts) and produced 65 tackles and seven pass breakups. However, since Evero left town in 2023, Mathis has slid down the depth chart. He started just seven of the 27 games he appeared in during his final two seasons with the Broncos.
The Panthers are lacking experienced depth behind Horn, Mike Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade. With Thornton having the size and length the Panthers covet, Mathis could be a solid option from a speed perspective (4.39-second 40-yard dash in 2022). Perhaps Carolina would prefer Mathis to Akayleb Evans, who is a holdover from last year.
Mathis, if claimed, would be on the final year of his rookie deal. The 2022 fourth-round pick has yet to produce an interception, but he has nine career pass breakups in 43 total games.
DB Dean Clark
The Panthers only kept four safeties on their initial 53-man roster. The group could afford some reinforcements, especially with just nine defensive backs on the entire team.
Clark, who was cut by the New York Jets on Tuesday, has really good size (6-1, 206 lbs.) and preseason numbers (five tackles, one interception and two pass breakups) on his rookie resume. The undrafted safety from Fresno State could be an early contributor on special teams as well.
The Panthers have claimed a player from the Jets off waivers following the cut deadline in each of the past two years. Granted, they also played the Jets in the preseason leading up to both of those deadlines, too.
Still, Clark seems like an intriguing player from a team the Panthers, for better or worse, tend to pay close attention to.
OLB Brennan Jackson
With second-round pick Nic Scourton dealing with a collapsed lung, the Panthers might want to reinforce the back end of their outside linebacker depth chart. Thomas Incoom has been stellar on special teams, but the Panthers might still prefer to add to the rotation on defense, perhaps to even upgrade over former third-round pick DJ Johnson.
Despite producing three sacks during the preseason, the Los Angeles Rams decided to let Jackson go on Tuesday.
A fifth-round pick in 2024, Jackson has the draft pedigree and preseason performance to draw some interest. And given the Panthers’ struggles in creating pressure over the past few years, Carolina might think Jackson could make a difference.
Jackson appeared in seven games (one start) for the Rams last year. He participated in 47 snaps on defense and 56 snaps on special teams. He makes sense for a bottom-of-the-roster look.
DB Beau Brade
The Panthers’ initial 53-man roster is somewhat devoid of depth in the secondary and on special teams. Brade, in his second season, could fill help with both voids.
Brade signed with the Baltimore Ravens last season as an undrafted rookie. He appeared in 11 games and played 70% of the Ravens’ special teams snaps during that stretch. While the Ravens waived him on Tuesday, Brade has the size (6-0, 209 lbs.) and special teams history to appeal to Carolina.
With Nick Scott, Demani Richardson and rookie Lathan Ransom likely to rotate into the secondary opposite Tre’von Moehrig, Brade could be their go-to special teamer in the room.
K Ben Sauls
The Panthers hosted a kicking competition this summer, but it felt like there wasn’t a runaway leader in the pack.
While Ryan Fitzgerald was kept on the 53-man roster, and Matthew Wright was cut, the Panthers still might look elsewhere for the position. Pittsburgh waived Sauls before the cut deadline, and he could be worth looking into after his four-for-four field-goal outing in Carolina last week.
Sauls, 24, has experience playing in the tough conditions of the northeast. And he went 21 of 24 on his field goals during his final college season at the University of Pittsburgh.
After showing up and playing well in the preseason finale against the Panthers, maybe the residents of Bank of America Stadium will want to bring him back into town.