With two preseason games under our belts, let’s try to guess who makes the Panthers practice squad in 2024.
Tuesday, August 27th at 4 p.m. ET is not very far away now. NFL teams have about a week to trim their rosters down from 90 players to the required 53. Then they can add up to 17 players to this year’s practice squad. Last week, we took a look at what the 53-man roster could look like, and not much has changed. There have been a few injuries and releases that have altered who will make the initial roster, namely some major bumps and bruises to the offensive line depth and the defensive secondary. Regardless, let’s look at the rules for constructing the practice squad and who is most likely to make it.
Teams can form practice squads after final cuts. This means that anyone the Carolina Panthers want to stash have to make it through waivers first. Starting this season, NFL teams can have up to 17 players on their practice squad as long as one player is part of the league’s International Player Pathway program. Six of the 17 players can be veterans with any number of accrued seasons. After that, up to four players have to have less than two years on active rosters in the NFL. A team can have any number of players that have less than nine games on an active roster in a season making up the practice squad roster. Another risky part of the practice squad is that players can be signed to the active roster of any team at any point. So if your team hypothetically had a cheap rookie kicker vastly outperform an expensive veteran in camp and your team tried to stash the young guy on the practice squad, he could then sign with another team and win multiple Super Bowls. Hypothetically, of course.
Now that we know the parameters for the practice squad, let’s take a look at who I believe the Panthers will try to add to theirs.
International Pathways (1)
Junior Aho, DE
The most obvious choice is the only International Pathways Player that the Panthers currently have on the roster, DE Junior Aho from France. It’s a free practice squad slot, so why not keep Aho around and see if he can turn into anything. Worst case scenario, he lets other guys get a breather in practice.
Offense (8)
Jack Plummer, QB
Dillon Johnson, RB
Jaden Shirden, RB
Mike Strachan, WR
Jalen Coker, WR
Jack Anderson, IOL
Mason Brooks, IOL
Jeremiah Crawford, OT
Injuries to players like Chandler Zavala may impact who gets put on the practice squad versus the active roster. Someone like Andrew Raym (who I had making the initial 53 anyway) could benefit from the lack of depth on the interior of the offensive line. The Panthers could also decide to add a third running back to the mix. Most teams like to load up the practice squad at positions that take a beating so the practice squad guys can take punishment in place of the guys on the active roster. Even though a couple of these guys have been released, they could still make their way back to the practice squad after cut downs.
Defense (8)
Jaden Crumedy, DE
Ulumoo Ale, DT
Luiji Villain, OLB
Kenny Dyson, OLB
Chandler Wooten, ILB
Jackson Mitchell, ILB
Dicaprio Bootle, CB
Demani Richardson, S
Losing Dane Jackson for around six weeks is a huge blow to the cornerback depth. Don’t be surprised to see the Panthers active on the waiver wire for some corner help. My preference would be to bring back Stephon Gilmore on a one year deal, but there are always surprise cuts that the Panthers could snap up. That could push someone like Chau Smith-Wade down to the practice squad. I think the Panthers only carry two more defensive linemen since Junior Aho is their IPP. Three total gives them plenty of flexibility in practice. Linebackers and defensive backs are even more important with the new kickoff rules, so the Panthers will likely carry a few of each. With the injury and release of Lamar Jackson, Bootle might be in line for the active roster. If not, practice squad is likely as Coach Canales and Coach Evero have been singing his praises.