The Panthers are bringing defensive end Ryan Delaire back from injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday afternoon. Delaire was placed on IR with a knee injury in late September and became eligible for return this week. The team has now triggered a 21-day window to determine whether to put him on the active roster. 
Delaire initially signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Towson prior to the 2015 season. The Bucs thought highly of him, giving him a $15K signing bonus – quite a bit for a UDFA. However, he didn’t earn a spot on the club’s regular season roster, leading him to Carolina early on in the 2015 season.
The 6’4″, 265 pound athlete appeared in nine games for Carolina last year, tallying eight tackles and 2.5 sacks. This year, he saw time in two games before going to IR.
Teams can only bring one player back from IR under the new rules, but the Panthers didn’t have any priority players that fit the bill. So, Delaire gets to return as a reserve bookend, provided that all goes well in practice over the next three weeks.