Panthers Begin Cutting Players Ahead of Sunday's Deadline

The Carolina Panthers, and every other NFL team, have a lot of tough decisions to make over the next 24 hours.

With the preseason wrapped up, teams have to go from around 90 players to just 53. Some teams went ahead and got a big chunk of the cuts out of the way on Saturday, while others prefer to wait til right before the deadline.

After the Panthers’ finale, head coach Dave Canales said the Panthers would release players in groups.

“They’ll be in waves,” Canales said after Friday night’s 16-13 exhibition-ending win over the visiting Houston Texans. “We’ll start (Saturday) with some guys.”

True to his word, the Panthers indeed made the following moves on Saturday:

Waived: RB Miles Davis, TE Caden Prieskorn, DT Tywone Malone, DT Kyon Barrs, WR Elijah Cooks, WR Roc Taylor

Waived/Injured: OL Ryan Hayes

Released From IR: WR Dan Chisena

None of the announced moves so far are surprising. Davis seemingly had the best chance of any to stick around, as he was the best running back on the team for most of the preseason. However, it was always going to be hard to beat out A.J. Dillon for the final spot.

Taylor made some nice catches during the preseason, but again, it was always going to be an uphill climb to make the team over guys like Jimmy Horn Jr. and Ja’seem Reed. Prieskorn couldn’t take advantage of a weak tight end room, and Malone and Barrs failed to stand out on the defensive line.

Chisena has been in the NFL since 2020. The Penn State product originally signed with the Panthers in October 2024, and he’s bounced on and off the roster since then. It looks like it’s finally the end of the line for Chisena in Carolina, and he was never able to get healthy this summer.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Davis and Taylor kept around on the practice squad if they clear waivers.

On Sunday, the Panthers still need to make about 25 more cuts. It will be interesting to see who sticks around in the wide receiver room and on the offensive line. Ja’seem Reed, Chandler Zavala, Cam Gill, Feleipe Franks, and Isaiah Simmons are some of the most interesting names to keep an eye on.