The Panthers made a change at outside linebacker Friday, swapping players.
The team signed undrafted rookie JJ Weaver, the Panthers announced. They released outside linebacker Amare Barno in a corresponding move.
Weaver, 25, played six seasons at Kentucky. He was a three-time captain for the Wildcats and finished his college career with 21.5 sacks.
Barno entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Panthers in 2022. He tore his ACL late in the 2023 season and began last year on the physically unable to perform list. He had three sacks in three seasons, appearing in 29 games.
The Panthers swapped cornerbacks Friday.
The team announced it has signed Mello Dotson and waived MJ Devonshire with an injury designation.
The Raiders waived Dotson earlier this week. He had signed with Las Vegas as an undrafted free agent from Kansas.
Dotson was a first-team All-Big 12 selection last year. During his college career, he intercepted 12 passes and returned four of them for touchdowns.
Devonshire, a seventh-round pick of the Raiders in 2024, was claimed off waivers by the Panthers in April.
He spent last season on the Raiders’ practice squad before signing a futures deal in January.
The Panthers have had seven consecutive losing seasons, so it might seem like there’s not a lot of reason for confidence coming out of Carolina. But head coach Dave Canales doesn’t see it that way.
Canales said he thinks his team is building something in his second season as head coach, and that the Panthers believe they’re going to be a tough team to beat this season.
“The sky’s the limit for this group,’' Canales said, via ESPN. “This is going to be a very competitive team. I don’t think people are going to want to play us by the style of football that we play. I’m expecting that. My expectations are really high for this group.’'
After an ugly 1-7 start last season, the Panthers played respectable football over the second half of the year, going 4-5 over the last nine games of the year and playing well in some of their losses, including taking both of last year’s Super Bowl teams, the Chiefs and Eagles, down to the wire before ultimately losing. So it’s not hard to see why Canales thinks his team deserves to have high expectations.
The betting odds still say the Panthers are unlikely to make the playoffs this season, with their odds of making the postseason around +225. But Canales believes his team is heading in the right direction.
The Panthers added a cornerback to the roster just before their first practice of training camp on Wednesday.
They announced the signing of Tre Swilling. Quarterback Ethan Garbers was waived in a corresponding move.
Swilling appeared in one game for the Jets last season and two games for the 49ers during the 2023 season. All of his playing time came on special teams in those appearances and he’s also spent time with the Ravens, Saints, and Titans. His father Pat was a longtime edge rusher in the league and he was the NFL’s defensive player of the year after a 17-sack season for the Saints in 1991.
With Garbers off the roster, Bryce Young, Andy Dalton, and Jack Plummer are the remaining quarterbacks for Carolina.
The Panthers made a couple of roster moves just before the start of training camp.
Former Seahawks tight end Tyler Mabry signed with Carolina, via Darin Gantt of Panthers.com.
Mabry will be on the practice field when the Panthers open training camp today. Mabry previously played for Panthers head coach Dave Canales and tight ends coach Pat McPherson when both were on the Seahawks’ staff, so it shouldn’t take him long to get up to speed. Mabry fills a need after Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble was placed on the physically unable to perform list because of a back injury.
The Panthers also placed defensive tackle Bobby Brown III on the active/non-football injury list. Brown signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Panthers in March after spending the last four years with the Rams.
