The Panthers waived wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. on Tuesday following Carolina's 59-37 loss to the Bears in Week 1, and signed linebacker Tyrel Dodson from the practice squad after another team attempted to sign him, according to a league source cited by ESPN.
Horn, the Panthers' sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, served as the team's primary kickoff and punt returner against Chicago and muffed a second quarter punt that led to a Bears field goal. He played 14 snaps on offense in that game and was targeted just once. Last season as a rookie, Horn appeared in 13 games with 11 catches for 108 yards and 69 yards on eight carries, and this preseason he had seven catches for 75 yards in four games.
Horn's release leaves the Panthers with five wide receivers on the 53-man roster: Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette, Brycen Tremayne and John Metchie III, with Metchie the only healthy scratch at the position in Week 1. Metchie, a former second-round pick of the Texans, has some return experience.
Coach Dave Canales referenced Horn's fumbled punt while discussing the loss, saying turnovers and penalties cost Carolina against Chicago. "Playing smart, that's where we fell short," Canales said Monday. "It was about executing our plan. It was about timely and costly penalties. Certainly, the turnovers, 17 points off of turnovers against a really good team, that's not something that you can do to play the championship football that we need to play."
Dodson, who was released by Miami ahead of the cutdown deadline and had spent the past two weeks on Carolina's practice squad, started 16 games for the Dolphins last season and produced 129 tackles, five sacks and an interception. He joins a linebacker depth chart led by Devin Lloyd and Bobby Okereke in Week 1, which also includes Claudin Cherelus and 2026 seventh-round pick Jackson Kuwatch.
