Panthers cut to 53; Cut Ellison; Shelton to IR

The Panthers made several cuts and roster moves today in order to get under the 53 man roster limit by 4:00 pm. Among the cuts were Panthers 3rd round pick Atiyyah Ellison and 6th round pick Joe Berger.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the fact that the Panthers kept both Rod Smart and Jamal at the running back position. It was long thought that they were fighting for the same roster spot, however, a spot opened when the Panthers placed 2nd round draft pick Eric Shelton on IR for the season.

The Panthers decided to go with youth in their punting situation, keeping Jason Baker over veteran Tom Rouen. Rouen got the bulk of the punts in preseason, but in the end it was Bakers' ability to also be used on kickoffs that landed him on the final roster.

PantherInsider.com will break down the latest roster movements more in-depth later on in the day.

Final Cuts: Lorenzo Alexander DT
Joe Berger OG
Aaron Boone WR
Casey Cramer FB
Dan Curley TE
John Doty T
Attiyah Ellison DT
Marcus Floyd DB
Eddie Freeman DT
Will Hampton CB
Charles Hill DT
Efrem Hill WR
Isaac Hilton DE
Eddie Jackson CB
Brian Knight LB
Hugo Lira WR
Ben Johnson OT
Tupe Peko OC
Tom Rouen P
Sean Tufts LB

IR

Matt Hill OT
Eric Shelton RB
Justin Smith LB