Panthers Camp — Sep 3: Okereke Signs, Lloyd Keeps the Calls

The linebacker room Carolina finished cutdown with is not the one it takes to Chicago. Bobby Okereke, whose deal we told you had not been made official when the 53 was published, signed a one-year contract on Monday, per the team's announcement — 30 years old, three seasons as a Giants captain after four with the Colts, a hundred and 10 games and 95 starts — and on Tuesday he practiced for the first time, lined up next to Devin Lloyd with the first defense, per Darin Gantt at the team's site. He practiced in a helmet with a receiver in it, to get the language down; Lloyd is still the one calling the defense. "I've been telling Devin since I got here, it's his show. I'm here to support him in any way I can," Okereke said, per Gantt. Dan Morgan: "He's a veteran guy that he's been productive in this league. He's super smart, high football IQ, really fits with what we do schematically on the defensive side." The same Monday, the Jets claimed Trevin Wallace, the 2024 third-round pick with 20 starts here — one of the more surprising cuts Carolina made, wrote Bryce Lazenby at Athlon. Morgan on it Tuesday, per Anthony Rizzuti: "Yeah, it's difficult. Me and Trevin, we developed a really close relationship." And on Tuesday the practice squad added linebacker Tyrel Dodson, 92 career games and 43 starts, an undrafted rookie in Buffalo when Morgan worked there, per Gantt. Two linebackers in, one out, two days.

The corresponding move for Okereke came off the offensive line. Guard Brady Christensen went to injured reserve Monday with a hamstring, out at least the first four games, per the team — 34 starts across 59 games here, at all five positions, a man who tore an Achilles in Week 8 last year, re-signed in July, and played the whole preseason including Friday's finale. Our last episode did not carry him at all; he was on the published 53 among 10 offensive linemen. So the line we told you opens without either starting tackle now also opens without its most flexible backup. Monday's other line move went the other way: Carolina claimed center Corey Bullock off Baltimore's waivers and waived guard Chandler Zavala to make room, per Gantt — a 24-year-old who played 16 games for the Ravens last season, 55 special-teams snaps to 13 on offense, per Myles Simmons at Pro Football Talk. Morgan: "I feel good about our O-line, and we made some moves the other day, bringing Corey Bullock in. He was with the Ravens in the preseason, a guy we identified, center/guard flexibility on the inside there. He's really firm. Tough, tough guy." Zavala, the hundred-and-fourteenth pick in 2023, cleared waivers and was back on the practice squad Tuesday, per Gantt. 10 offensive linemen on Gantt's Sunday breakdown; nine by Tuesday.

The practice squad is 17 as of Tuesday, by the team's announcements. 12 on Monday, per Gantt, every one a camp player released Sunday. Four went on veteran slots, of the six a team is allowed: receiver David Moore, safety Isaiah Simmons, guard Jake Curhan and edge rusher Cam Gill. Off the offense: receiver Ja'seem Reed, cut despite a strong preseason and back unclaimed, per Kole Noble at A to Z Sports; receiver Casey Washington; tackle Isaia Glass; and running back Tre Tyus. Off the defense: cornerbacks Corey Thornton and DeVonta Smith, defensive tackle Parker Petersen, and linebacker Maz Mwansa on the International Pathway exemption. Five more on Tuesday: Dodson; defensive tackle Anthony Goodlow, three games with Arizona last year; guard Torricelli Simpkins III, a Charlotte native who played college ball with Bullock at North Carolina Central and 15 games for the Saints; cornerback Zion Childress, out of Dallas's camp; and Zavala. Moore, one of the receivers we told you lost the numbers game on Sunday, is the one from that group who came back; Roc Taylor has no reported destination.

The other departure by claim was center Nick Samac, to Minnesota on Monday, per the Vikings' announcement. Cornerback Tyrek Funderburk, waived with an injury designation Sunday, was waived off injured reserve Wednesday, per Rizzuti at Panthers Wire. Nobody else from Sunday's cuts was claimed, and no reporting this week places any of the rest on another roster. The Sunday ledger, by the team's own release: 10 vested veterans released, 16 waived; running back Trevor Etienne and linebacker Bam Martin-Scott to injured reserve with return designations; Taylor Moton to reserve/non-football illness; Ikem Ekwonu and Tershawn Wharton to the reserve physically-unable-to-perform list. That holds. Morgan on the whole exercise, per Gantt: "I think they're getting harder every year." And on the TeRah Edwards trade: "Giving away a pick for somebody like that, it was really an easy decision for me."

Our last episode wanted Chuba Hubbard and Xavier Legette at full practice. Both were back at practice Tuesday, per Gantt. Darren Waller, the tight end who signed August 17 and practiced twice before the deadline, was in pads and team drills with the first team Wednesday, per Kassidy Hill at the team's site. Jonathon Brooks, the medical lottery ticket, did maintenance work Tuesday and was held out Wednesday with soreness, per Charean Williams at Pro Football Talk. Dave Canales would not name the body part, and said, per Hill: "We'll give you guys all the updates when we come back next week. I'm very optimistic he'll be available for Week 1." He has said he will give nothing specific on injuries until game week. With Etienne out, Jimmy Horn Jr. and John Metchie III fielded punts at Tuesday's practice, per Gantt.

Back in July we previewed Carolina as two true things at once: a defending division champion whose record in one-score games sits in the least repeatable category we track, and a front office that spent the spring buying what regression can't repossess — a pass rush, a rebuilt line, a medical lottery ticket in the backfield. The floor: eight and nine, a division title, an offense that ranked 20-sixth in expected points added per play — the measure of how much each snap moved the expected score — and a defense 20-third, with 30 sacks, tied for 20-eighth. Cut day left the rebuilt line without both starting tackles. This week the front office kept buying — a captain at linebacker, a center off the wire, a veteran for the squad — and the line lost its most flexible piece in the same week. The July premise holds. It is being maintained by transaction, one starter at a time.

Next is the Bears, Sunday, September 13, at Bank of America Stadium. What to watch: whether Brooks practices when the team returns from the holiday weekend, and how much of this defense Okereke has by Sunday. The Recap follows the game.

_Data via nflverse._