The Carolina Panthers entered training camp with the NFL's third-youngest roster. Then in final cuts they kept most of the youngsters.

The Panthers trimmed 22 players to get to the 53-man limit on Saturday, but found room to keep nine of 10 draft picks. They waived veteran defensive tackle Tank Tyler in favor of undrafted rookie Andre Neblett, and sent Kenny Moore packing in favor of three rookie receivers, including David Gettis.

Even second-year quarterback Hunter Cantwell was waived, giving the third-string job to rookie Tony Pike.

Star running backs Chris Johnson and DeAngelo Williams couldn't find any holes. Vince Young and Matt Moore weren't much better through the air.

Optimists can point to the ferocious defense Carolina and Tennessee played Saturday night, but the offensive ineptitude was cause for concern after the Panthers slogged to a 15-7 victory over the Titans.

Carolina's overhauled defense hardly looked like it missed Julius Peppers, sacking Young four times, keeping Johnson in check and holding Tennessee to 50 yards in the first half.

After 3 disappointing seasons, Panthers WR Dwayne Jarrett ready to finally contribute

Dwayne Jarrett laughed Sunday when told he's the same age as Carolina rookie teammate Brandon LaFell, fully aware of the implications.

At 23, LaFell is considered the future of the Panthers' receivers. At 23, the bust label is gaining steam for Jarrett after three ineffective seasons that have produced as many arrests as touchdown catches.

Only Jarrett on Sunday looked and sounded like a different person. He talked of how he's finally matured, slimmed down, got fit, is comfortable with the offense and not ready to concede the open starting job to LaFell or anybody else.

Flacco throws TD pass, Ravens get defensive in 17-12 win over Panthers

Joe Flacco guided Baltimore's retooled offense to a pair of scores, and the Ravens defense held Carolina without a touchdown in a 17-12 preseason victory Thursday night.

Flacco went 8 for 12 for 120 yards and a touchdown. He produced a field goal in his first series, then went three-and-out before directing a 96-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Mark Clayton.

Carolina quarterback Matt Moore, hindered by poor protection and three penalties against left tackle Jordan Gross, failed to produce any points during his three possessions.

Panthers will be without 11 injured players in preseason opener; all 4 QBs could play

Take the NFL's third-youngest team and subtract several key veterans because of injuries and it leaves Carolina Panthers coach John Fox facing an intriguing preseason opener Thursday at Baltimore.

"There are probably 20-something guys I've never seen take a snap in NFL football," Fox said Wednesday. "You have some of those guys every year from your draft class. We just have a few more this year."

The Panthers' offseason decision to shed veterans and payroll left a trail of inexperience, and training camp has thinned the roster.

With Julius Peppers gone, Panthers have big questions on revamped defensive line

When the remaining individual game tickets for the Carolina Panthers went on sale Saturday, the return of Julius Peppers with the Chicago Bears was the only one to immediately sell out.

Finding a replacement for Peppers and retooling the defensive line are going to take much longer.

The familiar sights were missing on Wednesday morning as 80 mostly young guys reported for the start of Carolina Panthers training camp.

There was no wondering which side door Julius Peppers might try to sneak through to avoid reporters outside the dormitory. The star defensive end is in Chicago now.

Jake Delhomme didn't walk up with his familiar smile and trash bag draped over his shoulder. The seven-year starting quarterback was cut, then signed with Cleveland.

No holdouts: Carolina Panthers reach 4-year deal with 2nd-round pick Jimmy Clausen

The Carolina Panthers have come to terms with quarterback Jimmy Clausen on a four-year contract that includes $2.53 million in guarantees, ensuring they'll have no rookie holdouts at the start of training camp.

The second-round pick from Notre Dame agreed to his deal hours before the Panthers reported to Wofford College on Wednesday. He was the last of Carolina's 10 draft selections to be unsigned.

Panthers WR Steve Smith out indefinitely after breaking left arm playing flag football

Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith will miss the start of training camp with a broken left forearm suffered while playing football.

Flag football, that is.

Smith was injured Sunday while playing in a flag football game. It's an activity that could violate the terms of his contract, although Smith is expected back before the start of the regular season and may avoid serious punishment by the team.

NFL coaches Brad Childress, John Fox, Marvin Lewis and Andy Reid will visit troops in the Persian Gulf this summer on a USO Tour.

His broken leg healed, Panthers LT Jordan Gross vows to keep football fun 2010

Jordan Gross has shed the cast and crutches. The grimace is gone, too.

On the field this week for the first time since breaking his right leg in a gruesome injury late last season, the anchor of Carolina's offensive line is smiling more as part of his new approach to football.

His first extended time away from the game due to injury allowed the Panthers' left tackle to see the game differently, and contemplate how down he was before his injury about Carolina's struggles in a non-playoff season.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - The Carolina Panthers have cut long-time quarterback Jake Delhomme, local media reported on Thursday.

The Panthers stand to pay out close to $13 million due to the 35-year-old Delhomme, the Charlotte Observer said on its website (www.charlotteobserver.com).

The Carolina Panthers made it clear Wednesday they didn't want to lose upstart quarterback Matt Moore, giving the restricted free agent the highest possible tender.

Ahead of his anticipated competition with Jake Delhomme for the starting job, the Panthers offered Moore a one-year deal worth $3.043 million. That means another team would have to surrender first- and third-round draft picks to Carolina to sign him.

The Panthers also placed the first- and third-round tender of $3.268 million on starting outside linebacker Thomas Davis. They decided to use just the second-round tender of $1.759 million on starting cornerback Richard Marshall.

Matt Ryan has a new favorite receiver. No surprise who it is.

Ryan threw three touchdown passes, hooking up with Tony Gonzalez for the second week in a row, and the Atlanta Falcons held off the Carolina Panthers 28-20 on Sunday.

Through his first two games with the Falcons, Gonzalez has 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Just what Atlanta had in mind when it dealt for a tight end who figures to end up in Canton — and starting 2-0 is just what Gonzalez had in mind when he asked to be traded by lowly Kansas City.

The Falcons already have matched the Chiefs' win total for all of last season.

The two sons of Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson resigned from high-ranking jobs in the organization Tuesday, an unexpected shake-up in one of the NFL's most stable and successful franchises.

Team president Mark Richardson and Bank of America Stadium head Jon Richardson announced their decisions in a written statement. They were expected to eventually take over the team from their 73-year-old father, whose role has been limited since a February heart transplant.

CHARLOTTE - Julius Peppers, the defensive end who has through his entire pro football career, been synonymous with the Carolina Panthers, now wants out of Charlotte.

Peppers grew up in the small town of Bailey, N.C. and who played at UNC in both football and basketball, has decided he wants to get Carolina off his mind.

Peppers becomes an unrestricted free agent on Feb. 26 and has decided that he will not sign a long-term deal with the Panthers.

Peppers is a four-time Pro Bowl defensive end.

He was the Panthers' first-round pick in 2002, and said that he now believes Carolina's defensive system is not for him -- even after recording a career-high 14 1/2 sacks this season.

By Andrew Mason

CHARLOTTE -- After 16 games in which so much went right, the Panthers' season ended on a night where everything went wrong.

Carolina turned the football over six times and the Panthers gave up scores on five consecutive first-half series, allowing the Arizona Cardinals to take control and pull away for a 33-13 win in front of 73,695 at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night.

"We picked a bad day to have a bad day," head coach John Fox said.

CHARLOTTE – The last meeting of the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers was last year on October 26, 2008.

In that game, the Panthers overcame a 17-3 third-quarter deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23. Quarterback Jake Delhomme completed seven-of eight second half attempts to rally the Panthers to three third quarter touchdowns.

Delhomme finished the day with 248 yards on 20-of-28 passing and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 122.3. Wide receiver Steve Smith was the recipient of both touchdowns as he went over the century mark for the third consecutive game with 117 receiving yards on five catches, including scoring strikes of 18 and 65 yards.

STAFF REPORTS

CHARLOTTE - It will be Act II of a suspense thriller that began in October when the Carolina Panthers host the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Divisional game Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium. The two teams met in October as the Panthers survived 381 yards passing by Kurt Warner to win a come-from behind 27-23 victory.

The rematch is the result of a 30-24 Arizona victory in the Wild Card game over Atlanta last week in which the Cardinals used their potent passing game, a rejuvenated running attack, and a swarming defense that allowed Michael Turner just 42 yards on 18 attempts.

NEW YORK - After completing the best home season in 12 years, the Carolina Panthers will try to carry their momentum to the road when they visit the New York Giants Sunday night at the Meadowlands The Panthers completed their home schedule with an 8-0 record last week, defeating the Denver Broncos 30-10, and now will face a Giants team that has lost only once at home.

“They are the defending world champions for a reason,” says head coach John Fox, defensive coordinator of the Giants before coming to Carolina in 2002. “They are an exceptional football team and particularly difficult to beat at home. We will have to be at our best.”
Steve Smith has been at his best throughout the season and last week
provided the spark for the Panthers as he caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. While he did not break his team single game records for catches and yards, it looked like he might in the first half when he had six catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers gravitated to the running game in the second half, but Smith was still able to record several milestones:

Andrew Mason
Panthers.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The snow that fell upon Lambeau Field in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon was neither elegant nor picturesque. It was icy. It was painful, thwacking into the faces of all who turned in its path, accompanied by a wind that had been gusting capriciously from what seemed like all directions throughout this pivotal game.

And when the Panthers had to buckle down and seize the game, the wind and snow were at their backs.

Yes, this was the weather that one associates with the Green Bay Packers - the conditions that once inspired a commercial for a cough-and-flu remedy that ran on NFL broadcasts for several years, saluting the Packers and their fans' ability to remain resilient in the harshest of conditions.

Andrew Mason
Panthers.com

CHARLOTTE -- With a 10-point deficit and the offense stalling on Sunday afternoon, the Panthers turned back to the ground ... and turned on the power.

Six runs for 54 yards by running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart and wide receiver Steve Smith on Carolina's first possession of the second quarter quickly aroused the Panthers' offense. Those runs galvanized a unit that had only amassed two first downs in its previous three quarters; the Panthers doubled that total on an eight-play march to a Jeff King touchdown that propelled Carolina to a three-touchdown second quarter, the most prolific rushing day in franchise history and, finally, a 31-22 win over the Detroit Lions at Bank of America Stadium.

CHARLOTTE - The second half of the season begins as the first half did for the Carolina Panthers – on the road Sunday against an AFC West opponent. In the season opening game, Carolina pulled out a last second 26-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers to propel the Panthers to a 6-2 record through eight games.

The Panthers are at Oakland this week and the Raiders promise to be another stiff challenge for Coach John Fox and his team.

“Playing on the road is difficult any time and there are not many places more difficult than the Coliseum,” says Fox.

TAMPA BAY - After a successful two game home stand the Panthers return to the road to play the NFC South defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. Carolina, which outscored Atlanta and Kansas City by a combined score of 58-9, including a 34-0 whitewash of the Chiefs last week, has split its previous two road games.


The two teams last met when they closed out the regular season a year ago, but Sunday’s game will bear little resemblance to that contest. The Bucs had already clinched the division title and rested many of their starters while the Panthers were trying to finish the year on a positive note.

By Andrew Mason; Panthers.com

MINNEAPOLIS – Jake Delhomme was able to get up quickly after being hit by Minnesota's Antoine Winfield on a cornerback blitz late in the second quarter.

But the aftershocks of the hit rumbled from the moment Winfield jarred the football loose until the final gun of the Panthers' 20-10 loss to the Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.