Panthers Sign Okereke, Waive Seven Ahead Of Cutdown
Carolina added a 30-year-old starting linebacker and cut seven players on the same Saturday, all before closing the preseason 3-1 on Friday night.
Panthers add a linebacker, then trim toward 53
Carolina agreed to terms with veteran linebacker Bobby Okereke on Saturday, per Tom Pelissero, with ESPN's Jeff Fowler and Adam Schefter confirming the one-year deal. Joseph Person of The Athletic framed it the same way he framed the Darren Waller signing this offseason — a proven veteran added for competition — and it's an easy need to spot: Devin Lloyd is questionable with a knee that kept him out of Wednesday's practice per Nick Carboni of WCNC Charlotte, and Bam Martin-Scott sat out Friday's finale with a hamstring. Okereke, 30, was Indianapolis' 2019 third-round pick out of Stanford before spending the last three seasons with the Giants, where he racked up 143 tackles, two interceptions and six passes defended a year ago, per Big Blue View — a starter walking straight into a position group that needed one. Bobby Okereke Signs One-Year Deal With Panthers has the rest of it.
First wave of Panthers cuts: Waived: DT Kyon Barrs, WR Elijah Cooks, RB Miles Davis, DT Tywone Malone, TE Caden Prieskorn, WT Roc Taylor Waived-injured: OT Ryan Hayes Released: WR Dan Chisena with an injury settlement 31 to go.
The signing landed the same day as the first wave of cuts, and Person's tally captured the mood in Charlotte: waived were defensive tackles Kyon Barrs and Tywone Malone, receivers Elijah Cooks and Roc Taylor, running back Miles Davis and tight end Caden Prieskorn, with tackle Ryan Hayes waived-injured and receiver Dan Chisena released via injury settlement. Davis was in the box score two nights earlier with the Panthers' first touchdown against Houston — a reminder of how thin the line is in late August between a highlight and a release. "31 to go," Person wrote, with Sunday's 53-man deadline bearing down on everybody left in the building.
Last time out: Panthers close the preseason 3-1
Carolina closed out the preseason at 3-1 with a 16-13 win over Houston on Friday night at Bank of America Stadium, a game the Panthers led 6-3 at the half and then had to grind out with the reserves largely running the show. It followed the pattern of the whole preseason slate — a lopsided loss at Buffalo, then a 34-17 romp at Jacksonville, then a tight one to finish.
Texans16-13
Jaguars34-17
Bills14-29The lines belonged to the depth pieces jockeying for spots that no longer exist. John Metchie III caught one of three targets for five yards and added two kickoff returns for 47 yards. Jimmy Horn Jr. caught his only target for five yards and ran once for six. AJ Dillon carried six times for 12 yards and caught three of four targets for 20 yards out of the backfield — three players making their last real case before Sunday's cutdown.
Canales is all in on Bryce, and it's not his call to pay him
The line everybody in Charlotte is repeating this week came from Dave Canales, asked flat out whether Bryce Young is still his quarterback. "He is right now," Canales said, then dropped the hedge entirely: "He's our guy." Canales Is All In On Bryce, GM Can Handle The Check has the rest of it — Canales praising Young's growth "from just an operational standpoint" to how he handles close, one-score games down the stretch.
What Canales didn't do was touch the money. He punted any extension talk to general manager Dan Morgan, calling it Morgan's problem and not his — his job, as he framed it, is getting Young to the next step on the field, not negotiating what it costs to keep him there. It's as clean an endorsement as a coach can give a quarterback while still making clear the checkbook is somebody else's department.
Up next: Ben Johnson brings his Bears to Charlotte
The next real snap counts for anybody who survives Sunday's cutdown come Sunday afternoon vs. the Bears, and it's a first look at what Ben Johnson's Chicago actually is. Johnson took over the Bears this offseason with Caleb Williams as his quarterback, and the roster he's building has still had real questions to settle in camp — the left tackle spot alone has been a three-way competition between Braxton Jones, Jedrick Wills Jr. and Kiran Amegadjie, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and Windy City Gridiron. Chicago went 1-1 in its own preseason and was last seen losing 27-9 at Cincinnati.
The book had Chicago as 2.5-point favorites when the line opened, with the total set at 47.5 — Carolina an underdog at home in a game read as middling on the total. Neither club has played a snap that counts yet, which makes this the first real answer either fan base gets about where their team stands in 2026.