Carolina Panthers cut seven players, including two-year starter

The Carolina Panthers cut seven players on Saturday in tackle Martez Ivey, wide receiver Ishmael Hyman, linebacker Paddy Fisher, linebacker Jonathan Celestin, running back Darius Clark, safety Doug Middleton and two-year starter Joey Slye, the Panthers’ kicker since 2019.

Middleton and Slye were released, while Ivey, Hyman, Fisher and Celestin were waived. Clark was also waved, though in part due to injury.

The Panthers made all seven moves as it begins to zero in on the NFL’s 53-man roster limit, due Tuesday. The seven cuts made Saturday put the Panthers at 71 players, with 18 more cuts to make before Tuesday.

Slye has been a fan favorite since arriving in Charlotte in 2019. An undrafted player out of Virginia Tech, Slye had a 79.4 conversion percentage on field goals while with the Panthers, making 54 of 68 field goal attempts in two years. He made 64 of 71 extra point attempts.

“He’s a wonderful person, and he’s worked really hard,” Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said Friday. “He’s made a lot of kicks and he’s done a lot of good things, and he’s just in one of those places right now where he’s struggling. When you struggle at a lot of other positions people don’t know it, but when you struggle at that position unfortunately it’s magnified. But he’s been a brother to these guys and he’s worked with these guys, so they want to see him succeed. It’s the power of the locker room and the brotherhood you’re trying to create.”

Slye struggled in the first two preseason games of 2021, missing three of eight field goal attempts. The Panthers also acquired kicker Ryan Santoso from the Giants in a trade on Thursday, who will presumably take Slye’s spot.

Ivey, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Florida, has not yet played an NFL game since leaving school in 2019 and was last cut by the Patriots. Hyman played two games with the Buccaneers last season, catching two passes for 34 yards. Fisher signed as a 2021 undrafted free agent out of Northwestern but did not make the final roster. Celestin has participated in two of the Panthers’ past three preseasons, but he also has not yet made a roster. Clark was signed this offseason through a HUB Football workout, a path for overlooked players, but was unable to make the final roster. Middleton, a veteran safety out of Appalachian State, has played four NFL season dating back to 2016, two with the Jets and two