Granted I am a bit biased being a Wake student, but Kenny Moore is a competitor. If he doesn’t make the 53-man roster this year, he will next year. He has got too much heart not to.

Its a pretty good schwag and its way too early to be too sure of any of the bubble players. The Panthers would probably prefer to take 8 OL and Geisinger could be left off. I would like to see us take 5 DT’s into the season but can’t decide who the 5th would be. I could see Anderson getting beat out by a rookie LB that excels in kick coverage. I could see Schwartz betting beat out by Cadogan or even Palmer. I would probaly then leave Wesley on the roster if we can’t find an adequate replacement ‘gunner’ for kick coverage. Also, I wonder if since Richard Marshall is moving to outside CB if he will drop of the coverage team. Who would replace him? Munnerlyn? Martin?

If the Panthers hold to form they will cut bait with a couple vets as they did last year with Evan Mathis and Rashad Butler.

I think Cadogan would be able to make it over Gesienger, who we could probably store on the PS if we like him.

Also, with both Wesley and Wilson having experience at S and CB, that gives us some flexibility in the secondary. I’d say one guy could get cut between Wesley, Munnerlyn, Salley, and Teal.

which Jaxon touched on a bit, is not the specific players who will make it, but the number of roster spots allocated to the different positions. I don’t think anyone could have predicted how many LBs we’d keep last year.

So, LK, I look at the list that you’ve put together, and I’m really only struck by one thing.

3 backup interior linemen? Seems like a lot, even if they aren’t all going to be on the weekly 45. My guess is we’d stick with two backups: one G, one C/G. That just seems to fit their strategy.

I think that extra spot carries over to DT, or possibly to LB (aka special teams).

But that’s my take. Great work on this, LK. Good fun speculating until something interesting actually happens again.

But I think he could end up in Denver. They want to be a 3-4 team, but don’t have the outside rushers to get it done…

1) I think the Panthers probably drop Justin Geisinger as a backup C/G and rely more on Mackenzy Bernadeau to provide that role. That frees them up to then keep CJ Davis or a another player at a different position instead. Basically, Geisinger is expendable because of Bernadeau. And, by letting Geisinger go, we get to go “shopping” for one of the other players on the chopping block. Of course, they could also drop Bernadeau and keep Geisinger, but I just have a feeling it’ll be Bernadeau.

2) I think the Panthers keep Gerald Cadogan over Geoff Schwartz. We went after Cadogan pretty heavily and outbid several other teams to pick him up as an undrafted free agent. As long as he doesn’t screw up badly in training camp, I have him penciled in as as a backup OT. And of course, Wharton also serves as another LT with lots of experience if we need him there. These versatile linemen are a great luxury for the Panthers, but still would have been nice if we could have kept Geoff Hangartner in the mix instead of losing him to free agency.

3) I think the Panthers might try to sneak Captain Munnerlyn onto the practice squad so they can further develop him. And that would let them keep an experienced backup and special teams player in Dante Wesley on the roster instead. Regardless of which way they go, there should be some serious competition for the extra DB spot. Another possibility also exists. If the Panthers want to keep BOTH Munnerlyn and Wesley for special teams and the backup DB roles, the extra spot provided by letting Justin Geisinger go could be used for that instead.

4) It’s a shame to see Decori Birmingham and Jamall Lee get cut. I don’t think there’s any way we can sneak Lee through waivers. But if we could, he’d be a GREAT player to have on the practice squad in case we needed to call him up. Unfortunately, there are just too many other teams that have an interest in the kid for that to happen. I suspect Decori Birmingham would likely get picked up as soon as we released him, too.

5) Do we keep two FBs on the active roster? Again, I don’t think there’s any way we can sneak Fiammetta through waivers to keep him on the practice squad…nor would we want to. And, given that he’s played special teams before in college and the all-around best prospect at his position in this year’s draft, I think he gets a spot.

Just my nickel’s worth,
—Neil

I suspect Julius will sit out minicamp, the OTAs, and possibly part or all of training camp. But, even after all that, he’ll come to play for us. He’s got to play in at least 6 games to maintain his eligibility as a UFA for next year. And, he needs to showcase his skills again to get other teams to stay interested enough in him to not only trade for him, but also to pay him the big money contract he wants.

I don’t think Peppers will sit out all that stuff just to posture or somehow purposefully “harm” the Panthers, though. Most players hate training camp. And, if you don’t have to be there (contractually-speaking), why go? You could risk injury (which would be a major deal if that happened right before you hoped to make it through the next season and come out on the other side as a UFA again). And you might even stay fresher (as some players claim who want to eliminate training camps) for the regular season (and thereby be better able to produce in a year when you really need to prove yourself again to attract attention).

Now, I don’t necessarily agree with all of those points. I just think that’s probably more of what goes through Peppers’ mind (and his agent’s possibly) as they consider sitting out training camp. If they pull that stunt, however, I think they risk a lot more. Peppers won’t have a chance to learn the new defensive schemes Meeks will be installing. He won’t be able to develop any synergy with his fellow D-linemen, including pass-rushing rookie Everette Brown. And, lastly, he risks turning away other teams from bidding for Peppers’ services when he does become a UFA again, because some teams may view him as too disruptive of a player with such antics.

So, it’s double-edged sword if he goes that route.

But that’s just my two-cents,
—Neil