After just one season, the Carolina Panthers will be moving on without cornerback Dane Jackson.
The team announced on Friday morning that they have released the 28-year-old defender. Jackson signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract with Carolina last offseason.
Before joining the Panthers for the 2024 campaign, Jackson spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills. The 2020 seventh-round pick tallied 28 starts over 52 games from 2020 to 2023—amassing 152 combined tackles, three interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles.
Jackson, who was the very early favorite to serve as Carolina’s No. 2 cornerback alongside starter Jaycee Horn, ended up playing in just nine games for the team. He recorded 23 combined tackles and two passes defensed with three starts as well as career-lows in overall defensive grade (33.8) and coverage grade (36.4) from Pro Football Focus.
Per Over The Cap, the release saves the Panthers approximately $3.35 million in cap space ahead of the start of the new league year.