CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Following the final preseason game Friday, Dave Canales talked about some of the more intriguing roster decisions the Carolina Panthers had to make before Sunday — all of them on offense.Canales wondered aloud whether the Panthers would keep three quarterbacks (they did), four running backs (they did, although one’s hurt) and what they might do with a loaded tight end room (keep ‘em all!).Those decisions — in addition to going with 10 offensive linemen — prompted the Panthers to stay lean at wide receiver. That meant the release of veteran David Moore, who’d been with Canales at each of his three NFL stops, and Ja’seem Reed, who led the Panthers with two receiving touchdowns in the preseason.Moore and linebacker Trevin Wallace were the two biggest names among the cutdown-day casualties, a list that also included safety Isaiah Simmons, a 2020 first-round pick from Clemson.Top Plays from Texans @ PanthersThe Panthers made a trade Sunday to add depth to the defensive line, and — given Dan Morgan’s history — almost certainly will make a couple of waiver claims before Monday’s 1 p.m. deadline.Meanwhile, a few thoughts on the initial roster:Tight ends aplentyWhen the Panthers signed Darren Waller two weeks ago, the prevailing thought was someone would have to go to make room for a player who caught six touchdown passes in nine games for the Miami Dolphins in 2025 following a one-year retirement. Ja’Tavion Sanders, with a skill set similar to Waller’s, was viewed as a trade candidate.But for now, Waller and Sanders are still around, as are Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans and Feleipe Franks. That’s a lot.Because Waller can line up in the slot, the Panthers can categorize him as a hybrid player. And while Franks is a tight end by title, he made the team because of his special teams ability. Still, it will be interesting to see how the TE room shakes out, especially where Waller is concerned. Waller, who turns 34 the day of the season opener against the Chicago Bears, has been targeted just once in a team drill since arriving.Morgan’s first draft class takes a hitWhen Wallace was waived, he became the third player purged from the 2024 draft class, Morgan’s first after succeeding Scott Fitterer as general manager. The other two departees were Day-3 picks (Michael Barrett at least brought the Panthers Mike Jackson in a trade), while Wallace is a third-rounder who started 20 games in his first two seasons.But the addition of Bobby Okereke made either Wallace or Claudin Cherelus expendable, and the Panthers kept the better special teams player. Several of the remaining members of the seven-player draft class have more to prove, either due to injury (in Jonathon Brooks’ case), inconsistency (Xavier Legette) or both (Sanders).The Panthers kept linebacker Claudin Cherelus, right, but waived Trevin Wallace, left, who was Carolina’s third-round pick in 2024. (Bob Donnan / Imagn Image)A King-in-waiting?The team’s area scouts uncovered some undrafted gems in Morgan’s first two years as GM, beginning with ex-Holy Cross wide receiver Jalen Coker and continuing with former Florida State kicker Ryan Fitzgerald and linebacker Bam Martin-Scott, whose hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve with a designation to return.