With the NFC South championship at stake, the Carolina Panthers (8-8) will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) in Saturday’s regular-season finale. The Panthers won the first battle just a couple of weeks prior, at home in Charlotte, NC. Ahead of the road rematch, Carolina made a pair of roster moves on Friday, revealing crucial updates on two decisions closely monitored all week.
Panthers Add Depth to CB and LB Units With Practice Squad Elevations on Friday
The Carolina Panthers added linebacker Jacoby Windmon and cornerback David Long, Jr., to the active roster on Friday. The two players were added via standard practice squad elevation, corresponding to the team’s ruling out Claudin Cherelus (ankle/calf) and Robert Rochell (concussion) for the contest.
Cherelus was filling in for starter Trevin Wallace (shoulder), who was placed on injured reserve prior to Week 17, after undergoing season-ending surgery on his injured shoulder. Cherelus was seen in a walking boot this week and did not participate in any of the practice sessions. Undrafted rookie free agent Bam Martin-Scott figures to start alongside Christian Rozeboom on Saturday.
Windmon has valuable special teams experience, as well as having taken defensive snaps for Carolina. Cherelus is one of the Panthers’ top special teams contributors, so Windmon will likely hear his number called in that area.
Not to diminish the activations for the two practice squad players, but perhaps the biggest news is the two players who did not get the nod for the massive showdown this weekend. Offensive guard Robert Hunt (biceps) and wide receiver David Moore (elbow) were not activated off of IR and have officially been ruled out for the final regular-season game.
Hunt and Moore participated in walkthroughs but were later limited, remaining questionable until the team decided not to activate them.
Austin Corbett will continue starting at right guard in place of Hunt. Moore is also a key special teams player, but has also shown a solid rapport with Bryce Young as a rotational piece on offense. The Panthers will need second-year playmakers Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker (25th-ranked WR, according to PFSN’s NFL WR Impact Metric) to step up on Saturday and keep pace with Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense.
