On Tuesday, the Carolina Panthers made a pretty surprising move—waiving wideout and 2025 sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr. to clear up a spot on the active roster for inside linebacker Tyrel Dodson. And on Wednesday, head coach Dave Canales explained why.
When speaking with reporters following this afternoon's practice, Canales implied that Horn was a victim of the numbers game.
"Yeah, the roster spot drove it," he stated. "But certainly for Jimmy, and we had a great conversation—he and I and Dan [Morgan] talked about it. Wanted to make sure he understood that we see the progress that he's making, we see the strides.
"And right now, with what the roster was doing, I didn't want him to go in the tank and be discouraged. We want him to come back. We want him to be here
on the practice squad, because he brings a lot to what we can do.
"And this isn't the end of that story. This is just a part of it. And right now, we have to make the best decisions, I have to those hard decisions along with Dan to make sure we get guys out there that we feel confident with."
Canales might not have felt too confident in Horn as the primary returner after this weekend's 59-37 loss to the Chicago Bears. With the game tied at 21 in the second quarter, Horn muffed his first attempt at a punt return—handing over possession, momentum and favorable field position to the Bears.
As indicated on the team's initial depth chart for Week 2, and confirmed by Canales, fellow receiver John Metchie III is in line to take over as the first-string returner on kicks and punts. Metchie fielded seven kickoffs for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025, averaging 17.1 yards per return.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales explains why WR Jimmy Horn Jr. was cut
