Panthers Cut Eight Players
1:28pm: Carolina has cut second-year safety Robert Lester, according to Person (via Twitter).
1:25pm: According to The Charlotte Observer’s Joe Person (via Twitter), the Panthers have also cut rookie cornerback Carrington Byndom. Person notes that the team is hoping to bring him back on their practice squad.
10:18am: The Panthers have started the process of trimming down their roster, and among the notable cuts is guard Chris Scott (first reported by ProFootballTalk.com on Twitter). The former Steelers fifth-round pick finally caught on with Carolina in 2013, starting eight games.
The rest of the Panthers moves are below:
- Tavarres King (WR) (via Joe Person on Twitter)
- Denicos Allen (LB) (via Person on Twitter)
- Chris Scott (OG)
- Casey Walker (DT) (via Person on Twitter)
- David Foucault (OL) (via Person on Twitter)
- Andrew McDonald (OT) (via Brett Tessler on Twitter)
Extra Points: Tannehill, Burnett, Panthers
Here are some assorted NFL notes on this Saturday evening…
- The evidence says that Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill isn’t a $100MM player, but ESPN.com’s James Walker wonders how much his value will increase if Tannehill guides Miami to the playoffs. Walker adds that the team is in a good position since they can potentially push off negotiations for two years.
- Having spent his first four years with the Cowboys, Kevin Burnett would be a good fit with his former team says ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez. With the Raiders drafting of Khalil Mack and the presence of Sio Moore, Burnett seems to be the odd man out in Oakland.
- Even with veterans Jason Avant, Jerricho Cotchery and Tiquan Underwood, Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer says the wideouts that have stood out the most during Panthers OTAs are Tavarres King and Marvin McNutt. None of the 11 receivers on the team’s roster caught a pass with the Panthers last season.
NFC South Notes: Panthers WRs, Saints TEs
Chalk this up as one of the more amazing tidbits with respect to NFL team’s rosters, as written by The Charlotte Observer’s Joseph Person: none of the 11 wide receivers on the Panthers roster this spring caught a pass for the team last season.
The Panthers went wide receiver in the first round of the draft, selecting 6-foot-5, 240-pound Kelvin Benjamin from Florida State No. 28 overall. He’ll be looking to replace departed receiver Steve Smith, as will fellow young wideouts Tavarres King and Marvin McNutt, who have been rotating through the first-, second- and third-team offenses in organized team activities.
“One thing we’re trying to make sure is everybody’s getting a lot of reps right now,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “Because when we get to training camp, we want to make sure everybody’s up to speed. We’ve made an emphasis that we’re rotating a lot of players, as much as possible. Wide receiver’s one of those positions.”
As Person notes in his column, both King and McNutt have impressive collegiate résumés, starring at Georgia and Iowa, respectively. They’ll be competing for the starting receiver spots with Benjamin and three free-agent acquisitions: Jerricho Cotchery, Tiquan Underwood and Jason Avant.
Check out more from the NFC South in the links below…
- De’Andre Presley was the answer from Rivera when asked if a player has distinguished himself after Wednesday’s OTA, writes The Observer’s Tom Sorensen. Presley, a quarterback in college at Appalachian State, switched to cornerback upon signing with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent, and is now trying to make the Panthers roster at wide receiver.
- The Panthers went defensive tackle back-to-back in the 2013 NFL Draft with the selections of Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short in the first and second rounds, respectively, but Short is still in a fight for a starting position, writes Jonathan Jones of The Observer.
- Six tight ends combine for 20 years of experience on the Panthers roster, and Rivera loves the versatility they bring, ESPN.com’s David Newton reports.
- While there is no replacing the immense talent of Jimmy Graham, Saints tight ends Ben Watson and Josh Hill are doing what is asked of them at OTAs, including everything Graham would be doing, per The Times-Picayune’s Christopher Dabe.
- First-round pick receiver Brandin Cooks will be back for the final week of Saints OTAs, believes ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett.
- Despite suffering two concussions in his rookie season, Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro said he won’t slow down nor change his reckless ways, Triplett writes.
- With a defensive-heavy draft, notes ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure, the Falcons surely made defensive coordinator Mike Nolan a happy man. Nolan touched on each of the seven defensive players drafted, including a glowing review of Dez Southward, the former Wisconsin safety whom Atlanta selected in the third round: “He’s got really good size and is fast. He’s an intelligent guy. He doesn’t have as much football in his background as other guys because he played late in high school. But he’ll listen, as opposed to somebody that didn’t learn much and then they think that they have all the answers.”