[jwplayer jcPYpmHE]
The Carolina Panthers released defensive back Rashaan Gaulden, their third-round pick in the 2018 draft. The Panthers announced his release on Monday; it followed a rough day against the New Orleans Saints in which Gaulden ran into teammate D.J. Moore on a punt return, disrupting the catch and giving the ball back to New Orleans. He later started a brief fight after a kickoff return by shoving Saints safety Justin Hardee to the ground after the whistle.
These mistakes were the latest in a series of problems Gaulden has had this year, per a report from The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. Gaulden at one point walked out of practice and did not travel with the team to a road game against the Arizona Cardinals. At the end of the day, his growing list of unforced errors and lacking discipline became too much for Panthers coach Ron Rivera to put up with.
It’s not the first time a bad outing against the Saints made an opposing team show a defensive back the door. The Houston Texans released cornerback Aaron Colvin after Saints quarterback Drew Brees victimized him in an end-of-game sequence to set up a last-second Wil Lutz field goal (sound familiar?). It’s just further proof that opponents need to be on top of their game when facing New Orleans, because the Saints won’t hesitate to take advantage of players who can’t keep a cool head.
[vertical-gallery id=23127]