Carolina Panthers cut 11 players after final preseason game

The Panthers wasted no time slicing players off its roster as it tries to get down to the final 53. On Saturday, Carolina waived 11 players.

But the team still has 26 more cuts to go after its first wave of releases.

Who was on the list of 11? Those cut were quarterback Jake Luton, running back Camerun Peoples, wide receivers Gary Jennings and CJ Saunders. Tackle Larnel Coleman, defensive lineman Antwuan Jackson and linebacker Bumper Pool also were waived. So were safeties Collin Duncan and Josh Thomas, cornerback Rejzohn Wright and kicker Matthew Wright.

The NFL tweaked the rules earlier this year, mandating that there be only one roster cut to get down to 53. All moves need to be made by 4 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday.

Panthers coach Frank Reich addressed the upcoming roster moves during a Saturday morning press conference.

“Literally every position has battles in place, not just for the roster, but you know, play time, who’s starting, how we’re looking at things,” Reich said. “But the good news is they’re hard decisions, right? Because we feel good about the guys we have on our roster.”

Of course, this isn’t necessarily the end of the NFL line for the waived players. Each NFL team can have a practice squad of up to 16 players. These guys earn $35,000 a week.

Razorback record holder among Panthers cuts

Some of the notables on the cut list include a couple of former Ohio State Buckeyes. Saunders, spent parts of three seasons on the Panthers practice squad. Jackson played for the XFL’s Seattle Seadragons this spring, then signed with Carolina.

Bumper Pool is Arkansas’ all-time leading tackler. But he went undrafted in April. Duncan played for Mississippi State. He initially signed with the Rams, but got cut in early summer. The Panthers added him, Aug. 16. Then there was Thomas, who spent two seasons on the Bills’ practice squad before signing with the Cardinals. He played four games there.

Wright, the kicker, was on his fifth NFL team. He’s played in 23 games over four seasons.

Of course, the most important rookie is quarterback Bryce Young, the top pick of the NFL Draft. Reich lauded his performance from Friday night as the Panthers closed out the preseason.

“I thought he did a great job,” Reich told reporters. “I think he’s got a lot of confidence in his teammates. The thing about it is since OTAs and training camp, those receivers, he’s kind of repped through with all those receivers. So that’s the positive thing; as a young guy coming in, I think he’s had a chance to get to work with and throw a lot of balls to every receiver on our roster. So I think he had a comfort level with all of them.”