The Carolina Panthers are moving on from a former fourth-round pick as they need to make some room on the roster.
The past few days have been busy for NFL teams as not only did the preseason wrap up but they also had to cut their roster down to 53 players ahead of Sunday's deadline. From there, more moves, including injuries, the PUP list, and practice squad have been announced.
While the 53-man roster deadline has passed, the rosters could look a little different in the coming days. For the Carolina Panthers, they have made a few moves already and had to say goodbye to a former draft pick.
With the Panthers adding former Baltimore Ravens center Caleb Bullock off waivers on Monday, they needed to open up a roster spot. They did so by waiving guard Chandler Zavala.
The former fourth-round pick lasted just three seasons in Carolina and appeared in 34 total games with 14 starts. However, he struggled and never really developed into a contributor on the offensive line.
Instead, he struggled a lot and lost playing time in the process. Going into this season, he needed a strong camp and while he made the initial 53-man roster, the Panthers had a different plan as they looked to upgrade their offensive line in the process with the trade.
The loss of Zavala also means that quarterback Bryce Young is the lone remaining draft pick on the roster from the 2023 class. Carolina gave up a lot to get Young including picks in that draft, so it was a smaller class. However, the class has struggled overall as even Young enters a very important year for his career.
The Panthers made some other moves on Monday as well.
They reportedly agreed to sign inside linebacker Tyrel Dodson to the practice squad from Miami as ESPN's Mike Kaye reported. He was signed as an undrafted free agent to begin his career and has turned in an impressive career so far, making 16 starts for Miami over the past two seasons.
Carolina also made the signing of inside linebacker Bobby Okereke official. They placed offensive lineman Brady Christensen on injured reserve, meaning he will miss the first four games of the season at least.
Carolina is set to open up the 2026 NFL season by hosting the Chicago Bears in Week 1.
