4 Panthers cuts before the 2021 season that would surprise no one
By Dean Jones
J.J. Jansen – Carolina Panthers LS
This would be an emotional goodbye more than a surprising one. J.J. Jansen is the longest-serving player on the Carolina Panthers and has been a mainstay on the roster ever since he joined the organization straight out of Notre Dame in 2009.
Since then, Jansen has proven to be an extremely reliable long-snapper that has accumulated 192 regular-season games – not missing a single one. His level of production was still of a high standard in 2020, but father time waits for no man and the Panthers put the wheels for his eventual departure in motion during the NFL Draft despite the veteran signing a one-year deal.
Carolina took the surprising decision to select Alabama‘s Thomas Fletcher in the sixth round, who thought he was answering the phone to receive an offer in undrafted free agency.
Fletcher and Jansen will fight it out for the top job during mandatory minicamp and training camp. But it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the rookie was given the nod.
If this situation plays out, then Jansen will be released after a tremendous spell in Carolina.
The Panthers wouldn’t be on the hook for any dead-cap money if they made this move, even though it would signal the end of an era with another veteran from the mid-2010s being removed from the set-up.