Carolina Panthers give Ihmir Smith-Marsette cold-blooded birthday present

The NFL is a cutthroat business. There is no regard for personal occasions or situations. Every player gets treated like a commodity whether they like it or not. That's the nature of the beast, unfortunately.

One Carolina Panthers player found that out to his cost. Despite making the initial 53-man roster, wide receiver and kick returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette was let go to make room for the six waiver wire acquisitions general manager Dan Morgan claimed following final cuts around the league with the No. 1 priority.

That's nothing new, but it came with a cold-blooded element attached. Smith Marsette turns 25 years old today (Wednesday, August 29). This was not the birthday present he had in mind.

Carolina Panthers cut Ihmir Smith-Marsette on the eve of his 25th birthday

This didn't go unnoticed by the former fifth-round selection out of Iowa, who took to social media to give a tongue-in-cheek response to the Panthers' decision on the eve of his big day.

Smith-Marsette looked like a good bet to make the roster thanks to his versatility on offense and his ability in the return game. The Panthers preferred veteran free-agent signing David Moore - a close associate of head coach Dave Canales from their time together with the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers - when it came to the crunch.

Although his release was disappointing with the worst timing imaginable, all hope is not lost where Smith-Marsette is concerned. There's a chance he gets claimed by another team off waivers given the need for explosive returners thanks to the new NFL kickoff rules. If not, he's almost certain to make it back onto the practice squad providing a better offer doesn't arrive from elsewhere.

This isn't the first rodeo for Smith-Marsette. He was released by the Minnesota Vikings after just one season. Before the Panthers swooped with a trade at the 11th hour last year, he was due to suffer the same fate despite impressing with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Smith-Marsette won't be taking the glass-half-empty outlook. This is just another bump in the road for the player, who remains confident in his ability and is striving with everything he has to force his way into a prominent role somewhere.

Getting cut with birthday celebrations looming isn't ideal, but the Panthers are doing things differently under Morgan's leadership. There's a level of ruthlessness and emotional detachment that wasn't evident previously. Very few can consider themselves safe long-term, which only raises the stakes as Year 1 under another new head coach fast approaches.

Rolling with the punches and focusing on what he can control would be in Smith-Marsette's best interests. There's nothing he can do to alter opinions now in any case, so just enjoy the birthday and let the chips fall where they may after that.

And who knows, perhaps he'll have something else to celebrate along the way.

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