The Carolina Panthers' power duo of general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales deserve a ton of credit for turning what was once one of the NFL's biggest punchlines into a rising contender. And while they've done a fine job of establishing a much-needed culture and piecing together a competitive roster, the braintrust has made a few puzzling moves over their three-year run.
Well, the latest came on Tuesday—when the team waived second-year wide receiver and primary return man Jimmy Horn Jr. Horn's shocking departure was made to clear a spot on the active roster for veteran inside linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who first joined the Panthers as a member of their practice squad two weeks ago.
As to why, our best guess is it has something to do
with Horn muffing a punt return in Sunday's season-opener against the Chicago Bears. At that point, Carolina—previously down 21-7—mounted a comeback to tie the game up and were raking in the possession as well as the momentum in the game.
But that seems like an awfully harsh lesson for such a young player—who was, after all, making the very first return of his NFL career.
During his time at Colorado and South Florida, Horn was a strong return specialist, and he appeared to be the best option on Carolina's roster for this role. He also flashed ability as a gadget weapon in limited action as a rookie in 2025.
Nevertheless, the Panthers decided to cut ties with Horn to make room for a guy who is unlikely to still be on the roster by the end of the season—maybe not even by the trade deadline halfway through the schedule.
Perhaps there's some reason for the cut that we haven't heard of behind the scenes. Maybe Horn didn't make sufficient eye contact with Canales, or was a poor practice player—or any number of silly reasons why football coaches do what they do to players who simply aren't their "guy."
Meanwhile, fellow wide receivers David Moore and Xavier Legette continue to get opportunities despite having committed many more mistakes than Horn ever had the chance to make. And so, the Panthers have wasted another draft pick after just 14 games played.
This is one move we simply don't understand.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Was Panthers' surprising cut of fan-favorite WR the right move?
