Carolina Panthers: Jeremy Cash making smooth transition to LB

The Carolina Panthers absolutely stole former Duke star Jeremy Cash as an undrafted free agent, and he’s showing out as a linebacker this preseason…

With a roster as deep as the Carolina Panthers, it’s easy to see why former Duke Blue Devils star Jeremy Cash could be on the outside looking in, but he’s making a strong case to be on the final 53-man roster when all is said and done.

Cash has been consistently around the football making plays, and through two weeks of the season, he’s the highest graded rookie linebacker from Pro Football Focus.

It’s crazy to think that Cash is possibly in danger of not securing a roster spot. After many felt like he could go as high as the second or third round of the draft, Cash didn’t get picked at all and the reasons for that happening are still pretty unclear.

Cash was considered a ‘T.J. Ward’ type of player at Duke, and is making a smooth transition to linebacker at the next level, a position the Panthers are very deep at. Still, what Cash needs to do is make sure he makes the best impression possible, and he has caught the eye of Panthers head coach Ron Rivera…

“Jeremy Cash is really starting to come into his own as a rookie.  I mean, he’s got a ways to go but he’s one of those guys that seems to be around the ball, very active around the football.  That’s what we’re looking for. Guys that will be around the ball and be active. He did a nice job and so did some of our young defensive linemen.  I think we have some young guys we have to take some long looks at in the next couple weeks and start making decisions.”

There’s no doubt that Cash has already done enough to have earned a roster spot somewhere else in the NFL if the Panthers decide they are too deep to keep him, and I don’t see it getting to a practice squad option either. Cash would have to pass all the way through waivers, and I suppose after proving that he is healthy and fully capable of a position switch, teams should be lined up for his services.

More from NFL Mocks

• 2024 NFL Mock Draft Journal: Cardinals, Falcons tank for USC QB Caleb Williams
• Patriots News & Rumors: Ezekiel Elliott talks fun in Foxboro; Mills to Packers?
• Fantasy Football: 5 reasons Colts QB Anthony Richardson can be a top-end option
• Packers’ Lukas Van Ness will make a Lambeau leap into the NFL in 2023
• 2024 NFL Draft: Hunter Haas’ Top 50 Big Board

You know, after they had all those chances to draft him…

Sometimes NFL front office personnel catch wind of a rumor about a player or get overly concerned by an injury or off-field incident so badly that they’re not willing to take a risk, but the unwillingness of teams to select Cash is the Panthers’ gain.

Speaking of gain, Cash is up to 221 pounds, 15 pounds heavier than his listed weight at the time of the draft. He’s always been a ‘bigger’ safety, but he’s putting on the weight required of an NFL linebacker and maintaining his quickness and sideline-to-sideline capabilities.

It’s been a strong camp and preseason for Cash, who is proving to other NFL teams that he would have been worth the risk.