Carolina Panthers roster churn at CB continues after signing former fourth-round pick to practice squad after successful tryout

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Carolina Panthers roster churn at CB continues after signing former fourth-round pick to practice squad after successful tryout

Aug 22, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jakorian Bennett (49) warms up before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Kole Noble · AtoZ Sports

Fri, November 6, 2026 at 5:27 PM UTC ·

5 min read

What Jakorian Bennett brings to the room, and other options the Panthers have at the position

Bennett started his career with the Raiders and played 24 games (11 starts) in his first two seasons with the team. In 2025, Bennett joined the Eagles and played in 11 games (1 start). Throughout his career, Bennett has allowed a 57.5 reception percentage with one touchdown allowed, 11 pass breakups, and a 80.6 passer rating allowed.

The Panthers are at the point where they can take any help that they can get, but those are pretty solid career stats. Given how late in the week Bennett was signed, it's unlikely we'll see him get elevated and suit up on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. But, it's an option to develop over the coming weeks and see if he can make a name for himself.

Going into Sunday's game, the Panthers are already down Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, and Akayleb Evans at corner. Rookie corner Will Lee III has also been sidelined all week with a hamstring injury and will likely be ruled out later today.

On the active roster, that leaves Chau Smith-Wade and Malcolm DeWalt IV as the team's only healthy corners. Last week, practice squad callup Marco Wilson played 69 defensive snaps and played well. It's highly likely we him get called up again and called on to start. Along with Bennett and Wilson, the Panthers also have Corey Thornton, DeVonta Smith, and Caelen Carson on the practice squad.

"Obviously, we're down a couple of guys, but I have faith in who we have," interim defensive coordinator Todd Wash said . "I like where we're at and (Marco Wilson's) got a certain skill set where I think we can get something out of him."

There's not much the Panthers have been able to do at CB ahead of the trade deadline

With the Nov. 10 trade deadline creeping up, people continue speculating whether the Panthers will make a move to add a cornerback via trade. It's been something I've been advocating for as well ever since Horn and Jackson got injured. The problem is, the Panthers have under $1 million in available cap space. They simply can't trade for anyone.

"That's all stuff we have to consider," head coach Dave Canales said. "It's the big picture though, right? This is a really good question for Brandt (Tillis) and Dan (Morgan) to be able to see what can we do. That dictates a lot in how active you can be at the trade deadline."

Instead of swinging big or bargain hunting, the Panthers have had to resort to dumpster diving. And I don't mean that as any disrespect to the players the Panthers have brought in. But, these are players who were released from other teams or sitting on the market waiting for an opportunity. And as we saw last week with Wilson, some of those players have been able to help out in a big way.

"Dan just continues to look for guys that we've liked in the past and bringing guys in so we can see them in person," Canales added. "Marco Wilson, classic example. When all of that work goes into the evaluation when he was coming out, and then you see his pro tape, it's a guy that we knew could help us. I love that Dan does that. I love that he gives the coaching staff options to be able to see who can help us in different roles."

Just to put things into perspective on the team's roster churn at the cornerback position, here is every roster move the Panthers have made at CB since the season started.

Sept. 30: Jaycee Horn placed on the IR

Sept. 30: Mike Jackson placed on the IR

Sept. 30: Robert Rochell signed to the practice squad

Sept. 30: Tyrek Funderburk signed to the practice squad

Oct. 3: Elevated Robert Rochell

Oct. 6: Marco Wilson signed to the practice squad

Oct. 7: Released Robert Rochell

Oct. 13: Signed Robert Rochell to the practice squad

Oct. 17: Elevated Robert Rochell

Oct. 24: Elevated Robert Rochell

Oct. 25: Signed Malcom DeWalt IV to the practice squad

Oct. 29: Signed Malcom DeWalt IV to the active roster

Oct. 30: Akayleb Evans placed on the IR

Oct 29: Elevated Marco Wilson

Oct. 30: Signed Caelan Carson to the practice squad

Nov. 3: Released Robert Rochell from the practice squad

Nov. 6: Released Zion Childress from the practice squad

Nov. 6: Signed Jakorian Bennett to the practice squad

Clearly, the Panthers have had a lot of shuffling at the position and the roster churn continues with Bennett being the latest cornerback landing in Carolina. We'll see how quickly he can pick up the defense and how the position looks come Sunday.