Nine days from now, NFL teams will need to cut their rosters down from 90 players to 53 ahead of the regular season. That represents the most difficult days for head coaches and general managers around the league.
For the Carolina Panthers, one of the toughest decisions will be who to carry at tight end, where they've long had one of the worst units in the league. The addition of veteran Darren Waller gives the toom some hope, but also means somebody else will probbaly wind up on the chopping block.
According to a new initial 53-man roster projection from Joe Person at The Athletic, 2024 fourth-round draft pick Ja'Tavion Sanders is going to be the odd man out at tight end. Person wrties:
Waller was a low-risk signing with the potential for a high return. Assuming he’s healthy, he’s on the 53. Waller, who turns 34 in September, tore his quad during training camp in Miami last year. That injury — and two others that followed — came after he’d been out of football for a year. But Canales said Waller showed up this week in “phenomenal shape.” Waller’s skill set is similar to that of Sanders, who could be the odd man out. Canales called Franks one of the top special teams players in the league, and the former QB has improved as a receiver.
It's a shame to waste an early Day 3 pick after just two seasons, but it's also hard to make a case that anybody else shouldn't make the roster over Sanders at this spot.
In 29 games, Sanders has caught 62 of 77 targets—totaling 532 receiving yards and two touchdowns. His career success rate is just 53.2-percent, and he showed no real improvement last season over his rookie year—either as a blocker or a pass catcher.
Meanwhile, Tommy Tremble is still a terrific blocker, Waller is now—by far—their best receiver at this spot, Feleipe Franks has ability as a special teams ace and Mitchell Evans has shown potential in the red zone, albeit in a small sample size. Leaving any of them out in favor of Sanders would probably be a mistake.
Other notable cuts from Person's projections include wide receivers David Moore and John Metchie III, guard Chandler Zavala and safety Isaiah Simmons.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers reporter projects recent 4th-round pick will be cut