3 winners and 3 losers from the Carolina Panthers initial 53-man roster

Christian Miller – Former Carolina Panthers DE

Defensive end Christian Miller, who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, received praise multiple times this offseason from head coach Matt Rhule and fellow teammates. But ultimately it wasn’t enough as he was the odd-man-out when the Carolina Panthers traded for Darryl Johnson from the Buffalo Bills earlier in the week.

Miller’s decision to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 can’t be questioned. However, it might have ended up leading to his release as the Panthers just didn’t have enough regular-season tape on him with better options available.

One of the biggest things that might have led to his demise is the fact that he was drafted by an old Carolina regime, leading to Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer choosing to stick with the guys they drafted.

Miller also dealt with injuries coming out of college and only registered two sacks a rookie. While there was some promise there, the coaching staff clearly didn’t see enough from the player after giving him plenty of reps during the preseason.

However, Miller was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad following his release. Where he will continue to develop and get some much-needed confidence back in pursuit of finding a way onto the team at some stage.