After finishing 5-12, the Panthers basically walked into the offseason and said, ‘Yeah… this ain’t it.’ Especially when it came to their wideouts. So with the No. 8 pick, they grabbed Tetairoa McMillan—a 6’4″ freak from Arizona who snatches balls out of the air like its nothing. Even Coach Dave Canales said “the guy’s a baller,” and then they doubled down with Jimmy Horn Jr.—Colorado’s speedster, no joke.
But if you’re thinking that the Panthers stopped just right there, think again. In fact, they brought former Pro Bowler Hunter Renfrow, who had a standout season in 2021 with over 1,000 receiving yards. Sure, he has had a couple of underwhelming seasons in the past few years, but he sure adds depth to Carolina’s receiving corps. But there’s a catch.
Even though they’ve some of the best wideouts on their roster, whether rookies or veterans, not everyone’s going to make it to the 53-man roster. And that’s the major headache for Coach Dave Canales and GM Dan Morgan. If the reports are accurate, the Panthers are certain to go ahead with McMillan along with Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and Adam Thielen. But the remaining two? That’s the tricky part.
Besides those four guys, the Panthers still have Horn Jr. from Colorado as well as Renfrow and the veteran David Moore. And the way things are shaping up, it’s likely the team might lose one wideout ahead of the 2025 campaign. Brian Beversluis from SB Nation is confident that Moore will definitely make it to the final roster. Why?
For starters, because of his previous connection with Coach Canales during his Seattle days. But the interesting part? Quarterback, Bryce Young. Moore worked with Young in the last season, and he knows Coach Canales’ offense. “I think there’s a very strong chance David Moore makes the 53-man roster, which means somebody’s favorite 5th or 6th wide receiver isn’t going to make the cut,” Beversluis noted.
If Beversluis’s report is true, then either Horn Jr. or Hunter Renfrow might not make it to the squad. But let’s not sugarcoat it. The second-year head coach and the general manager are heading towards the 2025 season without any emotional attachment.
That means the wideouts won’t be selected based on their previous year’s status. In fact, those guys have to earn their spot—at least, that’s what the reports suggest. That’s the wide receiver situation in Carolina. Either it’s going to be Moore or Horn Jr. or Renfrow, we’ll find that out soon. But that’s not the only position the head coach is concerned about. In fact, he just confessed why they parted ways with a veteran linebacker.
Dave Canales shed light on Jadeveon Clowney’s departure
The Panthers had a notable draft week last month, especially from the receivers’ and edge rushers’ point of view. While tackling the wideout unit is a different thing, let’s not forget the D-line. During the free agency, the team invested a good chunk of money in their interior defensive unit. That means, entering the 2025 draft, edge rushers were arguably the biggest defensive need of the Panthers.
And they indeed addressed this situation as Dave Canales and Co. picked Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. Many speculated that these two rookies will develop to replace Jadeveon Clowney and DJ Wonnum in the coming seasons. But the Panthers dropped a bombshell when they released Clowney earlier this month.
Many argued that the Panthers released the veteran linebacker to release cap space, around $8 million. And the head coach recently confirmed it. “There was a lot of you know things, from a general cap standpoint and things going forward and about opportunity,” the head coach said.
Dave Canales: Jadeveon Clowney release about cap and giving the two drafted edge rushers lots of reps. pic.twitter.com/RCnAlL2pdO
— Joe Person (@josephperson) May 9, 2025
“You know, we’re developmentally minded and we understand we bring, you know, outside linebackers to edge rushers in and all those reps are valuable. You know, we felt like this is a time to just make sure that those guys are getting the volume of the reps in and the learning.” It sounds like a fair argument. After all, getting the young rookies—Scourton and Umanmielen—as many reps as possible will only develop them.
But honestly, this felt like moving too fast, especially since they’re only getting under $8 million in cap space for a healthy, top-notch pass rusher — which just isn’t a great deal no matter how you look at it. But at the end of the day, the Panthers are seemingly relying on their rookies come 2025 season, especially on the edge. Let’s see how it turns out.
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