The Panthers made their cuts to 53, and two of the players they let go were gone almost immediately. The Jets claimed Trevin Wallace, and the Vikings claimed Nick Samac on Tuesday, giving Charlotte an unusual post-cut reminder that another team still wanted pieces of its roster.
That mattered because it had been four years since the Panthers had a player claimed off waivers after cuts to 53. The last time it happened was in 2022, when the Seahawks claimed Darryl Johnson, and in 2023 the Patriots claimed Matt Corral after the Panthers released him to make room for three waiver claims.
Dan Morgan did not try to dress it up as anything else. He said the roster is getting better and that the cuts to 53 are getting harder every year, a sign that the Panthers are finally carrying more players other teams view as usable right away. Morgan said the club’s aim when he took over was to keep building depth and competition, and he said the team will keep looking for players all through the season.
The claim outcomes also sharpened the reason Wallace was released in the first place. Morgan said the Panthers decided to part ways with him after signing Bobby Okereke and after weighing a group with more special teams value. The Panthers kept Claudin Cherelus, Jackson Kuwatch and Devin Lloyd on the 53-man roster, then added Tyrel Dodson to the practice squad, which leaves the linebacker room crowded enough that one promising young player could not stay.
Wallace is the one who makes the move feel personal. Morgan said the two developed a really close relationship and that Wallace had been in his office multiple times watching tape together. He also said he wished Wallace the best after the Jets claimed him, a small but telling detail about how quickly roster business can turn from evaluation to goodbye.
The broader message is that the Panthers are no longer simply trying to survive the cutdown process. They are churning deeper into the season, and Morgan made clear that the search for help does not stop now. What the club does next will be less about one deadline and more about whether this Panthers depth chart can keep producing players other teams want before Charlotte loses them first.
