After muffed punt, Panthers move on from Jimmy Horn to add a linebacker
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The Carolina Panthers have parted ways with wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr., the team announced Tuesday.
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Horn, who was drafted by Carolina in the sixth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft and appeared in 15 games, muffed a punt for a turnover in Sunday’s season opener against the Chicago Bears. It was a key mistake as the Panthers lost 59-37.
Last season, Horn totaled 177 scrimmage yards and 118 return yards.
The Panthers waived Horn in order to make way for Tyrel Dodson, who was signed to the active roster on Monday evening, a league source told The Charlotte Observer.
Dodson spent Week 1 on the practice squad. Because the vested veteran wasn’t on a roster Week 1, his contract does not need to be fully guaranteed, according to league rules.
The veteran who just started his seventh year in the NFL had a breakout season for the Miami Dolphins in 2025. He started all 16 games he played in last year, accumulating career highs in tackles (129), tackles for loss (10) and sacks (five), according to Pro Football Reference. He also added an interception and a forced fumble.
Dodson and general manager Dan Morgan go way back — all the way back to 2020, when Dodson arrived in the league as an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Buffalo Bills, where Morgan was a scout.
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Morgan signed Dodson to the practice squad in the hours immediately after the NFL roster cut deadline.
“When I was in Buffalo, we signed Tyrel as a UDFA,” Morgan said on Sept. 1. “So me and him had a really close relationship. And just selling him on the idea of coming, of being on our practice squad, he was all for it.
“I know he had other opportunities, and I think mine and his relationship definitely helped out. And he’s excited to be here. He wants to be a leader, and he wants to play, too.”
Morgan added: “Again, I told him there would be opportunities potentially down the road. … So he’s all in and he’s excited to be here.”
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