The Carolina Panthers must feel pretty good about the depth on their offensive line, because they cut an experienced 6-foot-7 blocker on Thursday.
The news came through the official NFL transaction report that the Panthers have waived Ryan Hayes.
Hayes isn’t a household name, but he was an established presence during his college career for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan.
He’s also one of those guys who looks the part when getting off the bus, standing 6-foot-7 as an imposing presence.
Despite that, Carolina decided after the preseason’s conclusion that Hayes didn’t need to be a part of the roster anymore, choosing to look elsewhere for depth along the offensive line.
Who Is Ryan Hayes?
Hayes, as mentioned above, is a 6-foot-7 offensive tackle.
Now 26 years old, Hayes is originally from Traverse City, Michigan, where he was a three-sport athlete in high school.
In football as a high school player, Hayes was an all-state tight end and defensive end, but it was always clear he’d play the line in college, as he was a four-star recruit as an offensive tackle.
Hayes took a while to develop with the Wolverines, in part due to injury, but his senior season in 2021 was strong. He started all 14 Michigan games and was named second-team All-Big Ten. He then came back for a graduate year in 2022 and started 11 more games and earned the same conference honor.
Hayes was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, but he didn’t make it to Week 1.
The Indianapolis Colts then picked him up but kept him less than a month.
The Dolphins brought Hayes back to spend most of that season on the practice squad, and then he also was part of the Miami practice squad for much of the 2024 season.
Hayes spent the 2025 season on the Atlanta Falcons‘ practice squad, then spent the first portion of the 2026 offseason with the Tennessee Titans.
The Panthers claimed Hayes off waivers on July 24, but he got hurt in the preseason, and his cut this week was done with an injury settlement.
Panthers Offensive Line Depth
Every team usually has a lot of offensive linemen in the building because it’s a precarious position that’s also very important.
At the tackle spots, which is what Hayes plays, the Panthers have Rasheed Walker starting on the left side and first-round pick Monroe Freeling on the right side.
Their backup tackles on the active roster are Stone Forsythe and Albert Reese.
Their current practice squad lists three offensive linemen, although none of them are noted as tackles. There could still be more roster moves to come if the Panthers feel they want to find another tackle to bring on board.
It is worth noting that two offensive tackles, Taylor Moton and Ikem Ekwonu, are both currently on the non-football injury list.
Panthers Cut Ties With 6-Foot-7 Former Michigan Standout