Kendall Donnerson – Syndication Server

Panthers release S LaDarius Wiley

The Panthers parted ways with S LaDarius Wiley, making him their sixth cut of the past 24 hours.

Even after sizing down the roster to Tuesday’s 80-man limit, the Carolina Panthers weren’t done chopping it up.

Per his agency, safety LaDarius Wiley has been released by the team. Wiley signed with the Panthers on Aug. 8 alongside defensive end Kendall Donnerson, who was also cut earlier today.

The undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt University broke into the NFL on a deal with the Tennessee Titans back in 2019. After not seeing any regular season action over his two years there, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound defensive back joined the Seattle Seahawks for a brief stay this offseason before being released in June.

Wiley and Donnerson account for two of the six players Carolina has now departed with over the past day. They’ve also moved out wide receiver Krishawn Hogan, guard Marquel Harrell and defensive tackles Walter Palmore and Caraun Reid.

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Panthers cut pair of DLs to get to 80-man roster limit

The Panthers cut ties with DLs Kendall Donnerson and Caraun Reid on Tuesday morning, bringing them to the 80-man roster limit.

Despite having quite a bit of time left ahead of Tuesday’s roster cutdown deadline, the Carolina Panthers wasted almost none of it.

The team officially announced the departures of two more players this morning, defensive linemen Kendall Donnerson and Caraun Reid. As the Panthers prepare for their preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Friday, they are now in the clear with the league-mandated 80-man roster limit.

Donnerson was initially signed back on Aug. 8. The 6-foot-3, 249-pound end was a seventh-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2018.

Reid, an eighth-year veteran, had come over to Carolina following stints with the Detroit Lions, the then-San Diego Chargers, the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The duo joins three other casualties from yesterday—wide receiver Krishawn Hogan, guard Marquel Harrell and defensive tackle Walter Palmore.

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Recently-released Saints Lorenzo Neal, Kendall Donnerson get new NFL opportunities

Recently-released Saints players Lorenzo Neal and Kendall Donnerson were picked up by new NFL teams:

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It’s not unusual for NFL teams to churn the bottom of their depth charts this time of year. With a week or more of training camp practice in the books and the first wave of NFL-mandated roster cuts still off in the distance (on Aug. 17, after Week 1 of preseason games), teams like the New Orleans Saints use this opportunity to reevaluate various position groups now that they’ve put together enough practice tape to make some informed decisions.

That’s why defensive linemen Lorenzo Neal Jr. and Kendall Donnerson were waived, along with rookie cornerback Lawrence Woods. And some of these players are already landing on their feet. Neal, a 325-pounder out of Purdue, quickly signed with the Denver Broncos. And Donnerson re-signed with the Carolina Panthers — before he joined the Saints for training camp, he spent most of May in Carolina for Panthers minicamps.

This follows a trend we saw last offseason, and again earlier this summer. While the Saints have lost a lot of depth, the players they’ve let go have often caught on with other teams across the league. That was the case in 2020 with many of their initial roster cuts. And it happened again during the 2021 salary cap crunch; so much so that many of their former players like Janoris Jenkins, Sheldon Rankins, and Emmanuel Sanders are scheduled to play against New Orleans this season.

So what does it mean? While this year’s roster is not as strong as what we’ve seen before, it does say a lot about their depth at some positions that castoffs are being rapidly signed by rival teams. Hopefully the reinforced position groups can make up for holes at other spots on the roster, because the Saints do have room to improve at, say, cornerback or wide receiver. It’s something to keep an eye on as the preseason approaches.

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Panthers waive 2 players, sign 2 others before Sunday practice

The Carolina Panthers have made a few roster moves ahead of today’s training camp practice.

The Carolina Panthers have made a few roster moves ahead of today’s training camp practice. The team announced that they have signed former Packers defensive end Kendall Donnerson, as well as defensive back LaDarius Wiley.

Donnerson was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in the 2018 NFL draft. Since then he has been bouncing around – first on and off Green Bay’s roster, then he spent time with the Raiders, Bengals, Bills and Saints. Donnerson also was with Carolina earlier this year, but he was released 10 days after he was signed. He has not played in a live game as of yet.

As for Wiley, he played his college ball at Vanderbilt, where he forced seven fumbles. He has played for the Titans and Seahawks.

To make room for the new guys, the Panthers waived defensive end Austin Larkin – who suffered a groin injury last week – plus undrafted offensive lineman David Moore.

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Saints waive DE Kendall Donnerson to make room for LB Kwon Alexander

The New Orleans Saints brought back Kwon Alexander by waiving recently-signed DE Kendall Donnerson, while another player changed jersey numbers for him:

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Kwon Alexander made his return to New Orleans Saints training camp on Thursday, but the team is easing the linebacker back to action while he continues to recover from Achilles surgery. And now we know how he’s going to fit on the roster, plus which jersey number he’ll be wearing.

The Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Luke Johnson first reported that the Saints released Kendall Donnerson, which was confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. The veteran defensive end was signed on the eve of training camp but struggled to stand out in a position group crowded with recent first-round draft picks like Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner.

Additionally, undrafted rookie linebacker Shaq Smith changed jersey numbers to accommodate Alexander. Smith is now wearing No. 46, having initially chosen Alexander’s preferred No. 58. Smith could be a candidate to make the practice squad if he performs well on special teams in the upcoming preseason games, but Alexander is looking to start next to Demario Davis.

Of course, other highly-drafted players like Pete Werner and Zack Baun may have something to say about that — not to mention Alexander’s ongoing road to recovery. We’ll keep an eye on his progress as camp continues.

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Saints add edge-rushing linebacker Kendall Donnerson

The New Orleans Saints signed Kendall Donnerson, an edge-rushing linebacker out of Southeast Missouri State formerly of the Packers and Bengals:

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Here’s some news for New Orleans Saints fans calling for help at linebacker. The team has signed free agent Kendall Donnerson, as first reported by Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football and confirmed by the Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Luke Johnson and the Athletic’s Katherine Terrell. The first thing to know about Donnerson’s skills set is his flexibility; he could end up playing more often at defensive end for the Saints given his history as a hand-in-the-dirt edge rusher at 6-foot-3 and 249 pounds, though some of his past teams have listed him at linebacker.

Donnerson is a fourth-year pro out of Southeast Missouri State, who started his NFL career as a seventh round draft pick with the Green Bay Packers. He hasn’t dressed for many games over the years, instead bouncing from one practice squad to the next, spending time with the then-Oakland Raiders, the Cincinnati Bengals, and a 10-day stint with the Carolina Panthers during minicamps earlier this year.

He figures to compete in training camp mainly on special teams, where the Saints have an opening after choosing to not re-sign Craig Robertson in free agency. If Donnerson is going to stick around, it’ll have to come through his efforts in the kicking game — though David Onyemata’s early-season suspension could cause Tanoh Kpassagnon to kick inside, possibly opening the door for someone like Donnerson to elbow into the rotation. At this stage, though, he’s probably just a body to help round out the practice rotation.

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Panthers bring on DL Frank Herron once again

Just 16 days after the team waived him to make room for a pair of undrafted rookies, the Carolina Panthers are bringing back defensive lineman Frank Herron.

The 26-year-old initially jumped on with the Panthers a little over a month ago, signing alongside running back Mikey Daniel and nose tackle P.J. Johnson in mid-April. Herron, again, would then be waived on May 10 as Carolina brought in linebacker Paddy Fisher and running back Spencer Brown.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder has played in seven NFL games, each with the Detroit Lions. He recorded 11 combined tackles (one for a loss) between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Defensive lineman Kendall Donnerson, as also announced by the team, was waived to now make way for Herron.

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Panthers sign 2 players, waive 3 after rookie minicamp

The headline grabber for rookie minicamps this weekend, perhaps particularly amongst Carolina Panthers fans, was the New York Giants trying to revive whatever’s left of wide receiver turned tight end Kelvin Benjamin. But, hey, your team did some work, too!

On Sunday afternoon, the Panthers announced the signings of two participants from their tryouts, safety Lano Hill and defensive end Kendall Donnerson.

Hill, formerly known as Delano, was a third-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. (So, yes, there are some ties to general manager Scott Fitterer.) He has played 42 career games, having started six of them in the Seattle secondary from 2018 to 2019.

A seventh-round selection by the Green Bay Packers back in 2018, Donnerson entered the league as an outside linebacker from Southeast Missouri State University. He has yet to log an official NFL snap, having also bounced around to the practice squads for the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals over the last two seasons.

The corresponding moves to free up space for Hill and Donnerson came at the expense of three others, with kicker Matt Ammendola, linebacker Daniel Bituli and defensive tackle P.J. Johnson having been waived.

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