The Carolina Panthers moved on from second-year wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. on Tuesday, waiving the former sixth-round pick two days after he muffed a punt in a 59-37 season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears.
The corresponding roster transaction brought linebacker Tyrel Dodson up from the practice squad, giving the team an experienced body on a defense that surrendered a franchise-record 59 points at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers announced the moves via their team website.
Horn, who turned 24 over the weekend, was Carolina’s 208th overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft after a college career that began at South Florida and continued at Colorado under Deion Sanders.
He earned first-team All-AAC honors in 2022 before transferring. As a rookie he appeared in 13 games, catching 11 of 15 targets for 108 yards and adding 68 yards on eight carries.
Those modest production numbers left him on the roster bubble heading into 2026, especially after the team added depth at receiver. Still, he won a job as the primary returner and showed enough in camp and the preseason to survive the final cuts.
Sunday’s special-teams mistake changed the calculation. With the score tied 21-21 in the second quarter, Horn called for a fair catch on a well-placed punt but failed to secure the ball. Chicago recovered and kicked a field goal. The Bears scored on six of their final seven possessions after that sequence.
Carolina’s offense put up 37 points, but three turnovers and a porous run defense defined the afternoon. Waiving Horn opened a spot without touching the five tight ends or other healthy inactives from the opener.
Dodson, 28, arrives with 92 career games and 43 starts across stops in Buffalo, Miami and Seattle. The former undrafted Texas A&M product posted career-best numbers last season with the Dolphins: 129 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks.
General manager Dan Morgan knows him from their overlapping time with the Bills. The Panthers hope his run-stopping presence helps stabilize a unit that allowed 7.5 yards per carry and four rushing touchdowns against Chicago.
Horn’s departure leaves the receiver room with Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette, John Metchie III and Brycen Tremayne. Return duties will likely shift toward Legette and running back Chuba Hubbard while Trevor Etienne remains sidelined.
At 5-foot-8 and 174 pounds, Horn was always going to be a gadget and special-teams piece rather than a featured target. His rookie contract still had two years remaining after a $195,440 signing bonus, but the Panthers decided one costly play and limited offensive impact were enough to move on.
Whether another team claims him or he lands on a practice squad remains to be seen.
For Carolina, the transaction is a straightforward attempt to address the side of the ball that collapsed in Week 1 while accepting the loss of a popular, if lightly used, young skill player.
