The Carolina Panthers have ended their latest chapter with linebacker Claudin Cherelus, releasing him from injured reserve after reaching an injury settlement.
The move, confirmed through the league’s transaction report, closes a short and unfinished 2026 season in Carolina and immediately opens the door for Cherelus to sign elsewhere once he is healthy enough to play.
The shoulder injury that put him on injured reserve after Week 2 never really gave him a chance to settle into the year. He had appeared in the first two games and recorded one tackle, mostly as a special teams regular and a reserve behind the team’s primary inside linebackers.
Once the injury lingered and he stopped practicing, Carolina placed him on IR, a designation that would have kept him unavailable for at least four games. Rather than wait out that timeline, the club and the player agreed to a settlement that lets both sides move on.
Cherelus’s path to this point has been typical of an undrafted player who survives by being useful in the margins. After college stops at UMass and Alcorn State, he went undrafted in 2023 and signed with the New York Jets.
New York waived him at the end of the preseason, and Carolina claimed him the next day. That claim became a three-year stay.
He contributed on special teams, earned a handful of defensive snaps, and eventually started a few games as injuries hit the linebacker room. By the end of 2025 he had built a modest but real résumé as a depth piece who could play if needed.
This past offseason the Panthers declined to tender him as a restricted free agent, then brought him back days later on a one-year contract. The reunion suggested the team still valued his familiarity and special teams work.
Training camp did not change the hierarchy, however. Carolina signed veteran Bobby Okereke to start alongside Devin Lloyd, and Cherelus remained a backup.
A shoulder injury against Atlanta then cut the season short before it could become anything more.
An injury settlement does not permanently bar a return to Carolina. Once the agreement expires, the Panthers could try to re-sign him if a need appears. For now, though, he is free to look around the league.
At 27, listed around 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, Cherelus is still young enough to interest a club that needs a special teams linebacker with some defensive experience.
The decision also reflects how NFL roster math works in September. Injured reserve spots, practice squad promotions, and depth at a crowded position all compete for the same limited space.
Carolina had already promoted other linebackers after Cherelus went down.
Releasing him from IR with a settlement simply made that temporary arrangement permanent. For Cherelus, the next step is recovery first, then another chance to prove he still belongs on an NFL roster.
