Carolina Panthers: Which wide receivers will get cut?

The Carolina Panthers are set to build an imposing passing attack for the 2016 season.

In the National Football League, depth is a good problem; especially when all of the players have the abilities to make an impact. The Carolina Panthers are going through such a situation at wide receiver as they work their way through the preseason. At the end of this four game series, it will be interesting to see which players make the roster as Carolina builds a scary passing attack.

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Early in his NFL career, Cam Newton didn’t have a wealth of weapons to use as he developed as a passer. That isn’t true today, as this roster reflects a team that continues to improve when it comes to moving the ball through the air.

The group of Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen, Ted Ginn Jr., and Devin Funchess is expected to cause problems for the defenses standing across from them. Benjamin and Ginn possess the ability to stretch the field, while Funchess and Olsen can tear up the slot. This list doesn’t include the likes of Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert who can catch the ball out of the backfield.

But the list doesn’t stop there. Philly Brown was a big contributor to last year’s unit and Brenton Bersin also had flashes of strong play. They are expected to make this roster and the rotations during the season. With these men taking up valuable positions on the starting unit, that leaves a few others that may find themselves cut before the final roster is selected.

Veterans such as Stephen Hill and Kevin Norwood were brought in to help add to this depth and now find themselves potentially being cut for that same reason. Keyarris Garrett is an unsigned rookie that has looked impressive as of late. Damiere Byrd spent a year on the Panthers practice squad and is now getting the opportunity to compete for a main roster slot. Rounding out the group are LaRon Byrd and Avius Capers– two names that most Panthers fans won’t recognize whom aren’t expected to make the team.

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This is an exciting time for the Panthers, as it’s the first season in which the team enters the year with a wealth of passing options. Last season, many were concerned with the strength of the receiving core; especially after Benjamin went down with a knee injury.

However, Newton was able to lead this unit to one of the best performances since the team joined the NFL back in 1995. The addition of all these players provides a mix of veteran leadership and youth that are vital ingredients to success at any position. Unfortunately, for some of those mentioned, they may find themselves on the wrong end of the cut list in a few weeks.

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As the Carolina Panthers head into the 2016 season with an increasing amount of expectations, some of these wide receivers are using these preseason games as an audition for other organizations in the league. Carolina will not keep them all on the roster, but that doesn’t mean some other organization isn’t looking forward to harnessing their abilities.

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