Nate

Salley

Salley, who began training camp as a starter at free safety, eventually relinquished the job to Deke Cooper because of constant knee problems.

Jarrett has a hamstring injury, while Salley continues to miss time with a knee sprain. Jarrett is behind Keary Colbert in their competition to start.

A disappointing end to 2007 for Salley, who began training camp as a starter but fell behind Deke Cooper when his knee acted up. OL Jeremy Bridges will be activated from the reserve/suspended list in another roster move.

Hardy probably won’t last long. The Panthers are likely playing it safe behind starting free safety Nate Salley, who’s listed as day-to-day with a hurt knee.

The rookie missed the first preseason game with a hamstring injury, but it doesn’t appear to be serious. It looks like Jarrett may rotate snaps with Keary Colbert and Drew Carter early in the year. S Nate Salley also returned to practice.

Salley appeared in 16 games last year as mostly a special teamer. He’ll push to be Carolina’s third safety behind Charles Godfrey and Chris Harris.

Salley hasn’t practiced since August 7. He’s due to make $1.01 million this year and if he can’t get healthy, the Panthers could cut the special teamer to free up money to acquire a defensive tackle.

Salley becomes a free agent, but chronic knee problems will limit his value on the market. He is a special teamer and backup-caliber defensive back.

This one stings. Salley wasn’t even close to a starter, but Carolina tendered him for $1.01 million this spring and will eat that money when they could’ve used it on defensive tackle help. Salley is unsigned for 2010.

Wesley can be the No. 4 safety after youngsters C.J. Wilson, Captain Munnerlyn, and Sherrod Martin have shown that they can step in and play at corner. This isn’t good news for Nate Salley, who hasn’t practiced much because of a knee injury.