SPARTANBURG — The Panthers placed Troy Pride Jr. on injured reserve Tuesday, as part of their moves to get to the 85-man roster limit.
Pride suffered a right knee injury during Sunday's preseason opener at Indianapolis, and had to be carted off the field.
The 2020 fourth-rounder had been hampered by injuries throughout the offseason as well. He played in 14 games last season, with eight starts. He had 41 tackles and two passes defensed last year.
The Panthers also traded offensive tackle Greg Little to the Dolphins, in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick (the Dolphins' first seventh-rounder). Little, their 2019 second-rounder, had fallen down the depth chart here, and there was no guarantee he was making the roster anyway.
The Panthers also released veteran fullback Rod Smith, waived/injured center Mike Panasiuk, and waived/injured linebacker Nate Hall.
The Panthers have to reduce the roster to 80 by next Tuesday, before final cuts to 53 are due on Aug. 31.
