Five "Surprise" Cuts Panthers Could Make

The Carolina Panthers could move on from some notable veterans.

By 4 p.m. EST tomorrow, the Carolina Panthers and the other 31 teams in the NFL must have their 53-man roster finalized ahead of Week 1. As always, there's one or two cuts that you didn't see coming. 

Who could those guys be on the Panthers' roster?

QB Matt Corral

Moving on from Corral wouldn't be the biggest surprise, but with the new QB rule, I would imagine most, if not all teams carry three QBs on the 53-man roster. He's still young and has a chance to develop into the long-term backup behind Young. The new staff seems to like his potential and work ethic, so I imagine he sticks around but he's not entirely in the clear.

TE Tommy Tremble

Tremble just hasn't developed as a pass catcher to this point and it doesn't appear he's on the verge of breaking through. Hayden Hurst and Ian Thomas are clearly one, two, so maybe the Panthers consider scanning the waiver wire or the free agent market and look to move on from Tremble.

LB Brandon Smith

Similar to Corral here. To me, it wouldn't be much of a surprise, but it still has that element when you drafted the guy on day two a year ago. The Panthers added some quality depth to the linebacker unit this offseason and Smith feels like he's on the outside looking in at this point. Can he hang around being that he's only in year two?

OLB Yetur Gross-Matos

The Panthers gave Yetur a chance to prove he can fit in this defense and although he made a few plays, nothing really stood out to me. It's always tough moving on from a former second round pick, but the coach and GM that drafted him are no longer here. 

CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver III

STO is a quality special teamer, but I don't know that he'll ever amount to much as a corner. With the recent addition of veteran Troy Hill, that corner room is starting to become a little crowded.

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