We’re counting down the days until the Panthers open up the 2025 season!
In this series, we’ll be counting down until opening kickoff by running through the Panthers roster by jersey number. Today’s piece looks at the current and historical players to have ever donned No. 53 for the Carolina Panthers.
Current Player: Claudin Cherelus
Cherelus (6’2”m 230 lbs) originally joined the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Alcorn State following the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers saw enough to snap him up after he was cut by the Jets before the season started. That year, Cherelus was only active for six games, and all of his snaps came on special teams. The 2024 season had so many injuries for the Panthers at the linebacker position that Cherelus was active for 13 games and even got two starts. In those games, he did tally 28 tackles and one QB hit before landing on the IR himself near the end of the year. He was thrust into a position that he was not ready for, as evidenced by his missed tackle percentage of over 17. This season, the Panthers have bolstered their linebacker corps through free agency, so the hope is Cherelus is able to focus more on special teams. Here’s hoping the linebackers stay more healthy this season.
Notable Previous Players to Wear Number 53: Brian Burns, Na’il Diggs, Brandon Short, Hannibal Navies
Before players were allowed to wear the number zero, Brian Burns donned the 53 for the Carolina Panthers. While his Panthers career was a bit disappointing, he was a beloved player while in Charlotte. Diggs spent four seasons in Carolina in the mid 2000s after coming over from the Green Bay Packers and played quite well as an outside backer next to current Panthers GM Dan Morgan. Brandon Short had a two season stint with the Panthers bookended by tenures with the New York Giants. His best year was 2005 when he started 15 games on the Panthers defense. The Panthers drafted Hannibal Navies in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. After having a quality season in the last year of his rookie contract, he signed with the Packers as a free agent.