EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 13: Maema Njongmeta #45 of the Cincinnati Bengals in action during the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on October 13, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The Carolina Panthers are coming off a tough Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Along with that loss comes some bottom of the roster churn, the kind that results in faces coming and going as the Panthers look for the perfect combination of players.
On Tuesday, that meant cutting one guy who had just signed a week earlier, as well as signing two new guys to freshen things up.
A lot of times, these moves and potential contributors don’t amount to much, but occasionally they end up being exactly what a team needs.
At 1-2, the Panthers sure would like a spark. They’ve got plenty of time to defend their NFC South Division title, but they probably will be kicking themselves for the loss to the Browns that very few would’ve predicted.
Panthers Cut Maema Njongmeta
The Panthers waived Maema Njongmeta, an outside linebacker they had just signed a week earlier.
Njongmeta is a 25-year old, 6-foot tall linebacker who had been signed to the Panthers’ practice squad.
He was born in Cameroon and moved to the United States when he was a young child.
He then grew up in Illinois, where he became a promising football recruit with offers from Iowa State, Tulane, Navy and Wisconsin.
Njongmeta chose the Badgers, where he played from 2019 through 2023, developing into a third-team All-Big Ten selection.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, Njongmeta went undrafted, but he signed afterward with the Cincinnati Bengals.
He made their opening roster for the 2024 season and was with the Bengals either on the roster or the practice squad until the middle of September in 2025. That’s when the Panthers signed him off Cincinnati’s practice squad.
Carolina cut Njongmeta at the end of the 2026 preseason, and he remained a free agent for a couple weeks until the Panthers just picked him up again.
He’s got an impressive wingspan, at 6-foot-6, and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.80 seconds.
Njongmeta appeared in all 17 games for the Bengals in 2024 and finished with 13 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
He then played in 15 games for the Panthers in 2025 and had 10 tackles and a fumble forced.
Given his familiarity with Carolina, Njongmeta may actually return at some point again, but for now, he’s a free agent again.
Panthers Sign 2 New Players
The Panthers signed two new guys to the practice squad: Isaia Glass and Cam Gill.
Glass is an undrafted rookie offensive lineman out of Vanderbilt. He stands 6-foot-4 and weights 311 pounds, and he also played collegiately at Oklahoma State. His father, Paul, was a college defensive lineman at Arizona State.
Gill is a cool story, having hung around the NFL after playing at Wagner College. He was first signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and is now 28 years old.
Gill was a member of the Bucs’ Super Bowl championship team that year. Overall, he has played in 50 NFL games and has 51 tackles with 2.5 sacks.
The Gill signing is basically a shot at getting it right at outside linebacker where apparently Njongmeta didn’t quite fit.
Billy Heyen Billy Heyen is a Heavy contributor with focus on the NFL and MLB. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive work for The Sporting News, the Sandusky Register and Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. More about Billy Heyen
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Panthers Part Ways With Recent Signing, Sign 2 New Players Including Super Bowl Champ
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The Carolina Panthers are coming off a tough Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Along with that loss comes some bottom of the roster churn, the kind that results in faces coming and going as the Panthers look for the perfect combination of players. On Tuesday, that meant cutting one guy who had just […]
Panthers Part Ways With Recent Signing, Sign 2 New Players Including Super Bowl Champ