The Carolina Panthers have made their first round of preseason roster cuts, waiving wide receiver Ryne Robinson, tackle Gerald Cadogan and defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams and placing guard C.J. Davis on injured reserve. The transactions reduce the roster to 76 players, and the Panthers must make one more roster move by 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday to reach the 75-player limit for the NFL's first roster cutdown.
Selected by Carolina in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, Robinson played in all 16 games as a rookie and led the team with a 23.0-yard average on 26 kickoff returns and an 8.7-yard average on 30 punt returns in addition to making four catches for 35 yards. But he suffered a right knee injury in training camp last year which caused him to be inactive for the first five games of the season and eventually be placed on injured reserve.
"It was a matter of what we felt was best for the team at this time, and this gives him an opportunity a little bit earlier to seek employment elsewhere," head coach John Fox said. "This game has its ups and downs, and it's unfortunate. I told him I appreciated him and appreciated his efforts."
Cadogan had been signed as an undrafted rookie free agent from Penn State following the NFL Draft. Williams spent the final week of the 2008 regular season and postseason on Carolina's practice squad after attending training camp with Baltimore. Davis, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Pittsburgh, sustained an injured ankle during a training-camp practice on Aug. 4.
