By 6:00 p.m. ET time this Sunday, NFL teams will have to trim their rosters down from 90 players to 53 in preparation for the 2026 regular season. And with nearly 40 guys per squad having to hit the chopping block, there are bound to be some stunning departures.
Unfortunately, that'll likely be the case for at least a few Carolina Panthers players. The numbers game this time of year is simply brutal—and it might not account for standout summer performances, veteran status or even recent draft picks.
Here are four potential surprise cuts the Panthers could make this weekend . . .
RB AJ Dillon
Dillon has done everything the Panthers could've asked him to do this summer. He's exhibited eye-opening explosiveness as a ball carrier, a bit of potential as a pass catcher
and willingness as a presence on special teams.
But keeping four running backs—with Chuba Hubbard, Jonathon Brooks and Trevor Etienne as locks—may not be very cost-efficient in terms of roster construction. If Carolina wants to hold on to Dillon, who may be the best short-yardage rushing weapon they've had in a few years, then they might have to get a little creative.
Being that Dillon is a vested veteran, he is not subject to waivers if he is cut. The Panthers could release Dillon and bring him right back on a deal with the practice squad.
TE Darren Waller
The same goes for Waller, especially if Carolina wants to keep 2024 fourth-round pick Ja'Tavion Sanders.
Sanders would hit waivers if he's cut, opening him up to the rest of the NFL's 31 teams. A backdoor deal to the practice squad for Waller, who was added not even two weeks ago, would allow the 33-year-old to keep acclimating to the offense and give the Panthers some flexibility if they don't want to offload Sanders for nothing.
DL Bobby Brown III
Given the lack of depth along their defensive line, a release of Brown—who signed a three-year, $21 million pact in the spring of 2025—would be rather shocking. But between his disappointing performance in the first season of that contract and the $3.4 million the team could save with a cut, perhaps the possibility is not completely off the table.
Plus, the Panthers may have a few capable youngsters to man in trench in 2026 second-round pick Lee Hunter, second-year lineman Jared Harrison-Hunte and undrafted rookie Aaron Hall.
ILB Jackson Kuwatch
Would the Panthers actually dump a new draft pick before the season even begins? Well, they did it in 2024, when they traded seventh-round linebacker Michael Barrett to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for cornerback Mike Jackson.
Although Kuwatch—a seventh-rounder from this past spring—has shown some promise in preseason play, he could be the odd man out in the inside linebacker room. And since he was a deep cut of a selection back in April, maybe the front office thinks they'd be able to sneak him through waivers and onto their practice squad.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 4 potential surprise roster cuts for the Panthers
