Panthers Shockingly Cut Disappointing Defender After Week 12 Loss
By Jovan Alford
After dropping a hard-fought game to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, the Carolina Panthers decided to shake up the 53-man roster on Monday.
The Panthers reportedly claimed former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Akayleb Evans, who was waived on Saturday. The 25-year-old cornerback didn’t play much this season with the Vikings, but his special teams prowess should open up more opportunities for him in Carolina.
To make room for Evans on the 53-man roster, Carolina shockingly parted ways with veteran pass rusher Charles Harris, per Joe Person of The Athletic. Before getting cut, Harris was tied with defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson as the team leader in sacks (3).
The Panthers have waived OLB Charles Harris, whose three sacks were tied for the team lead with A'Shawn Robinson. This has been something of a theme this year. See also: Jayden Peevy.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 25, 2024
The decision to waive Harris isn’t surprising as the Panthers have done this before to multiple players (Jayden Peevy and Eku Leota) this season. The 29-year-old outside linebacker was a healthy scratch in Carolina’s Week 10 matchup against the New York Giants, which didn’t bode well for Harris.
Earlier this month, the veteran pass rusher was graded as one of the NFL’s worst rushers on Pro Football Focus. In nine games with the Panthers, Harris had 21 combined tackles, seven quarterback hits, seven QB pressures, four tackles for loss, and three sacks.
After being a healthy scratch in Week 10, Harris played 33 defensive snaps on Sunday against the Chiefs. The 6-foot-3 defender didn’t have a single QB pressure against Kansas City star QB Patrick Mahomes.
Based on where they are record-wise, Carolina is better off developing younger pass rushers to see if they can find one or two diamonds in the rough.
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