11 most intriguing players on the Panthers' roster bubble

Compared to recent seasons, the Carolina Panthers are in a pretty good place. The team has raised the floor of their roster following their NFC South-winning campaign in 2025, and are in position to challenge for a postseason berth once again.

But like any other front office, general manager Dan Morgan and company will have a few tough decisions to make by 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday—when they have to go from 90 players down to 53.

Here are the 11 most intriguing Panthers who are currently on the roster bubble . . .

There seems to be no question that the Panthers want to keep their undrafted rookie gem around, especially after his heroics in the Hall of Fame Game. But will they do so by devoting a third spot to the quarterback room or by trying to sneak him through waivers and onto the practice squad?
Dillon

If the Panthers carry a fourth running back this year behind Chuba Hubbard, Jonathon Brooks and Trevor Etienne, it should be Dillon—who’s had a real strong preseason. Will his abilities as a short-yardage option, however, outweigh the potential surplus of players at this position?

We’ll believe it when we see it—but plugged-in beat writers are starting to expect that Moore, a favorite of head coach Dave Canales, will get cut. Perhaps he could end up on the practice squad, but it would be criminally negligent to roster Moore over several younger receivers with higher ceilings.

The first of those younger guys is Reed, who’s arguably been the Panthers’ best receiver this month. He caught a touchdown against Arizona, another against Buffalo and only has one real competitor for preseason MVP—at wide receiver.

And that would be Metchie, who has the advantage in both experience and in chemistry with starting quarterback Bryce Young.

Metchie scorched the Jacksonville defense in the third quarter last Friday, posting a game-high 77 receiving yards. He also scored a touchdown against the Bills and should have had another against the Cards if not for a rare miss by King.

The Panthers didn’t sign Waller last week just to cut ties with him already—so he’ll end up on the initial roster or the practice squad. If it’s the latter, expect him to sign right back after a release.

Sanders might have been fine if the Panthers hadn’t added Waller, who immediately becomes the best pass-catching tight end the team has had since Greg Olsen. The 2024 fourth-rounder also has competition in Feleipe Franks, a valued special teamer.

An undrafted rookie signee, Reese has impressed this preseason—having earned a league-leading 92.6 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. Cutting Reese would subject him to waivers, and there won’t be a shortage of teams looking to upgrade the depth on their offensive line.

Hall could provide some much-needed depth and a little pass-rushing juice to the defensive trench. But with Jared Harrison-Hunte and Elijah Garcia also in the mix, his spot is not assured.

Carolina desperately needed somebody to step up on the edge after Nic Scourton‘s season-ending ACL tear on the first day of training camp. The closest thing they’ve gotten to that is some preseason flashes from Gill, who showed some growth as a pass rusher coming off his Defensive Player of the Year campaign in the UFL this spring.

The former eighth overall pick won Panthers fans over in this past season’s wild-card round, where he blocked a punt in the fourth quarter to set up a late go-ahead touchdown drive.

Simmons’ potential on special teams, and even as a versatile weapon on defense, might have the staff stretch the capacity at safety to five—with Tre’von Moehrig, Nick Scott, Lathan Ransom and Zakee Wheatley as locks.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 11 most intriguing players on the Panthers’ roster bubble