Claudin Cherelus

Claudin Cherelus (born February 9, 1999) is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Massachusetts and Alcorn State and has also been a member of the New York Jets.

Early life
Cherelus was born on February 9, 1999, and is of Haitian descent. He started playing football in eighth grade and then played three varsity seasons at Golden Gate High School, near Naples, Florida. Cherelus played linebacker and safety and twice earned all-conference honors at Golden Gate while also being a team captain. He initially committed to play college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but instead ended up joining the UMass Minutemen after Minnesota retracted their scholarship offer.

College career
Cherelus redshirted his true freshman year at UMass, 2017. The following year, he played in all 12 games and posted 14 tackles. In 2019, Cherelus appeared in 11 games as a reserve and totaled 39 tackles along with a sack. He opted to transfer to play for the Alcorn State Braves in 2020, although they did not play that year due to COVID-19. Cherelus became a starter for Alcorn State in 2021 and recorded 76 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss and two sacks. In his final season, he played nine games and tallied 73 tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss, six sacks and an interception on his way to being named second-team all-conference. He was invited after the season to the HBCU Legacy Bowl, an all-star game for players from historically black schools.

New York Jets
Cherelus declined chances to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL) to try to make it in the NFL. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent, but was released as part of the final roster cuts on August 29.

Carolina Panthers
After being released by the Jets, Cherelus was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers. He was placed on injured reserve on November 3, 2023.