With the this afternoon’s looming cut deadline, the 2026 NFL season is starting to take shape. The final piece of that puzzle, from a personnel side, will be each team’s practice squad. This is a good list to watch to see who the team really valued coming out of the preseason.
Ja’Seem Reed landed here last season before making the 53-man roster this season. Quarterback Hendon Hooker, another fan favorite from last season, also landed on the practice squad. He ended the year on his third NFL team and is hoping
to start the 2026 season on his fourth. Every guy who makes the step from here speaks to highly motivated player, excellent scouting, and long odds.
Practice Squad Eligibility
The current rules for NFL practice squad allow for the following mix of players:
- Up to ten players per team with two or fewer accrued seasons
- Up to six players per team with no limitations on accrued seasons (veterans)
- Up to 17 total players so long as at least one of those 17 is an International Player Pathway participant
- A minimum of six (or seven if IPP) players with zero accrued seasons
Rumored candidates
There is a lot of smoke right now after the Panthers finally dropped their final cuts. Below is a list of vested veteran cuts and or rookie/rookie contract players (susceptible to waiver claims) who the team is likely to have interest in bringing back on the practice squad (or even the 53-man roster after a few pieces of injury business resolve).
Vested veterans cut by the Panthers
David Moore, wide receiver
Elijah Garcia, defensive tackle
Jake Curhan, offensive lineman
Robert Rochell, cornerback
Isaiah Simmons, safety
Cam Gill, outside linebacker
Ja’Tyre Carter, offensive lineman
Kyle Trask, quarterback
James Mitchell, tight end
Jeremiah Moon, outside linebacker
Waived players who may return
Nick Samac, center
Corey Thornton, cornerback
Ja’Seem Reed, wide receiver
Trevin Wallace, linebacker
Jared Harrison-Hunte, defensive tackle
Maz Mwansa, linebacker
Maema Njongmeta, linebacker
Roc Taylor, wide receiver
Practice squad signings
None yet, check back tomorrow.
This list is likely to fluctuate more than the 53-man roster over the coming days.
FanDuel odds for the playoffs
Our friends at FanDuel are offering +250 odds for the Carolina Panthers to make the playoffs and -310 for them to miss them entirely. Practice squad signings aren’t going to move that line all that much, but they may be a better indicator of roster health than cuts and waiver signings. Look to how many of other teams’ cast offs the Panthers pick up vs how many teams poach from Carolina’s practice squad to fill out their own 53-man rosters.
Checkout FanDuel, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
