Five questions on Panthers head coach Dave Canales’ mind as Carolina finalizes NFL roster

Dave Canales admitted Monday morning that he has some difficult decisions to make as he finalizes the Carolina Panthers’ roster — which requires cutting the 90 players on the team now to a game-ready 53.

The first-year head coach relishes those tough decisions, though.

In a way, it means he and the players have done it right, he said.

“It’s always been a heavy time for me,” Canales said. “I would say about 10 years ago, whenever I first became a wide receivers coach, my wife Lizzy and I just said, ‘You know what? It should always hurt. And if it doesn’t, I’m not doing it right. I’m doing it wrong.’ The connection, go for it, don’t hold anything back for the sake of saying this guy might not be here. Just invest in each other, enjoy every moment, enjoy every day and the challenge of the training camp.”

The next and newest challenge for Canales will come at 4 p.m. Tuesday, which is the NFL roster cut deadline. Until then, Canales and general manager Dan Morgan and the rest of the front office will have plenty to ponder: Should they keep a third quarterback? Do they keep six receivers, or do they bank on the waiver wire to upgrade that room? And do any of their decisions need to be based on any players’ current health status?

Here’s a look inside the mind of Canales ahead of the cutdown deadline.

How many receivers do the Panthers plan to keep?

The splashiest moves the Panthers made this offseason have been about making life easier for second-year quarterback Bryce Young. That has meant investing a ton in the interior offensive line — signing a top interior OL free agent in Robert Hunt and another in Damien Lewis. That’s also meant trading for the speedy veteran Diontae Johnson and trading up into the first round for rookie Xavier Legette.

Now Canales faces another fork-in-the-road with this offense: Who will fill out the rest of the wide receiver group?

That’s something he and his staff are still evaluating.

“They certainly came out of camp as the strongest group that we have on this team, the depth at receiver,” Canales said. “I don’t want to get into specific numbers because I know there are people who are looking at our guys. So there is a possibility that we could keep seven. There’s a possibility we keep four and add two guys from other places that might upgrade those positions. We’re wide open. But what I would say, to your point, is that that group showed up this camp. And they all did something that got our attention.”

The question ultimately comes down to a few guys. There’s Terrace Marshall, who has had a masterful camp. There’s Jalen Coker, who the team got as an undrafted free agent and who caught a touchdown pass in the team’s final preseason game. There’s David Moore, who has a previous professional history with Canales.

There’s Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who suffered an ankle injury Saturday and is in the picture, too. He furnished a bunch of explosiveness for a painfully predictable offense last year, and is someone Canales said “he did a fantastic job showing what he can do” this preseason.

Canales considers the waiver wire a weapon

It’s true that all the moving-and-shaking of the Carolina Panthers’ 53-man roster likely won’t be done after the Tuesday afternoon deadline. Immediately afterward, many players cut by teams will have to clear waivers — and that means they’d all have to come across Carolina’s desk.

The Panthers are first in the waiver wire order, meaning they get first dibs on a player who gets cut from another team.

Canales considers the waiver wire a weapon, he said, and has a personal history with it.

“Justin Coleman, who we signed off the waiver wire in Seattle, he ended up playing for us for four years. Made it to his second contract,” Canales said. “Thinking about our roster, and thinking about the depth of our receiver room: there are teams out there with similar situations in different positions, where they may have six or seven guys that could help other teams. And it kind of fluctuates what positions those are. ... I’m excited to see what there is out there.”

Will Panthers keep 3 quarterbacks to help Bryce Young, Andy Dalton?

Canales has been clear this offseason that he’d prefer to have a third quarterback in the building, in case Young and backup Andy Dalton go down and he’s needed. The emergency quarterback rule, which started in 2023, stipulates that a third quarterback can be listed as “inactive” for a week and still play in a game if the first two quarterbacks are injured in the same game.

That has boded well for Jack Plummer at getting a fair shake toward his NFL dreams. Plummer has gotten plenty of meaningful reps this offseason, including starting two and playing the bulk of all three of the Panthers’ preseason contests.

Now that Canales has seen an entire preseason, does he still feel the same way?

“Jack really made a statement for himself last game,” Canales said. “And I value the emergency third quarterback, but again, that’s a spot on the 53-man roster. So that becomes a real sticking point. Based on depth and need at other positions, can we afford to carry three quarterbacks on the 53. We’re right in the middle of that conversation. Jack made it harder by his performance in Buffalo. I love that. That’s exactly the situation we want to be in. I want guys to force hard conversations and hard decisions by Dan and I.”

Jonathon Brooks still hurt. Will he start on injury list?

There are a few projected contributors on the roster who haven’t played all preseason and will almost certainly miss Week 1. That includes the following:

▪ Running back and second-round draft pick Jonathon Brooks, who started training camp on the non-football injury (NFI) list and is still recovering from ACL surgery

▪ Pass rushers DJ Wonnum (quad) and Amare Barno (knee), who started on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list

Canales called those injury considerations “huge” as he finalizes the roster. Players who are placed on the PUP and NFI lists to begin seasons do not count toward the team’s 53-man roster, but they won’t be able to play at all during the season. New this year, though, two players on the PUP/NFI lists can be listed as on IR with return designations — meaning they will have to miss the first four games of the year but won’t be counted toward the 53-man list.

In so many words: I’s a complicated numbers game.

“We have to look at the full group of running backs with Jonathon and without Jonathon,” Canales said. “(Same for) with or without DJ Wonnum. With or without Barno; he’s not coming back for a while as we get in his rehab. That impacts us big-time.

“So again, just talking about the values (players) have shown us stuff here through camp that can help us, and then also just looking across the league and to see who becomes available. Where would they fit in on this hypothetical depth chart. So open to all those possibilities right there.”

One question Canales has already mulled over: What about Eddy Pineiro?

Anything to do with kicker Eddy Pineiro is something Canales has already mulled over. Why? Because, in Canales’ words, that’s his kicker.

Pineiro missed the second half of the team’s preseason finale on Saturday with hamstring soreness, per the team, but Canales clarified it was a precautionary measure and affirmed that in as many words Monday.

“I think we’re good right now,” he said of the team’s kicker situation. “And practice squad is too valuable in terms of skill positions and linemen and things like that to carry an extra kicker, so I don’t think we’d do that.”