HEADLINES

Kenny Dyson

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/6/25

January 6th, 2025 at 7:29pm CST by Ben Levine

With the regular season having come to an end, many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts. This allows organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/4/25

January 4th, 2025 at 9:47pm CST by Ely Allen

The last minor moves and standard gameday elevations of the 2024 NFL regular season:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Ross’ new deal to the Texans’ 53-man roster is good through the 2025 season, as well. Ditto for Jones, signed to the active roster in New England today.

Sanders returned to practice this week, and his activation will allow him to close out his second Panthers season on the field rather than on the mend. His Carolina tenure has fallen well short of expectations and a release in the near future could be in the cards. Given the team’s backfield injuries, though, Sanders could handle a notable workload tomorrow while potentially auditioning for free agent suitors.

Gilman’s return will be welcomed by the Chargers’ defense. The 27-year-old has remained a full-time starter this season, his second straight handling first-team duties. Los Angeles is assured of a wild-card spot, but moving up to the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture could be possible on Sunday. In any case, Gilman’s presence will be key for a Bolts defense which leads the league in points allowed per game (17.6).

Gardner’s campaign will come to an end after 15 games played. He fell short of a Pro Bowl nod for this first time in his young career, but the fourth pick of the 2022 draft remained a critical member of the team’s secondary when healthy. Gardner is eligible for an extension this offseason, and his financial future (which will include a fifth-year option decision in the spring) will be a key point of focus once New York’s head coach/general manager tandem is in place.

Panthers Place RB Miles Sanders On IR

November 23rd, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Panthers have placed running back Miles Sanders on injured reserve, per team reporter Darin Gantt.

Sanders exited Carolina’s Week 10 victory over the Giants in the second quarter and has not practiced since.

Despite signing a four-year, $25.4MM contract with the Panthers in 2023, Sanders has played second fiddle to Chuba Hubbard in the backfield over the past two seasons. This year, Sanders has just 38 carries for 139 yards (3.7 yards per carry) compared to 818 yards on 161 attempts (5.1 yards per carry) by Hubbard.

Sanders’ latest injury could spell the end of his time in Carolina, according to ESPN’s David Newton. Sanders has no guaranteed salary in the remaining two years of his contract, and the Panthers could save $9.8MM in salary cap space in 2025 and 2026 with a dead cap hit of just under $3MM, per OverTheCap.

The Panthers signed wide receiver Deven Thompkins to fill Sanders’ spot on the active roster. He was elevated for Carolina’s last two games with Adam Thielen still working his way back from a hamstring injury, though the veteran is expected to play in Week 12.

Carolina also used practice squad elevations for wide receiver Dan Chisena and linebacker Kenny Dyson, their first call-ups of the season.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC South

August 28th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints moves are noted below.

Atlanta Falcons

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Carolina Panthers

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

  • WR Jalen Coker

Waived from IR:

Signed to practice squad:

New Orleans Saints

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Panthers Set Initial Roster

August 27th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Panthers made a number of moves on Tuesday to get their roster down to 53. Carolina moved rookie running back Jonathon Brooks to the reserve/NFI list, likewise sidelining edge rushers D.J. Wonnum and Amare Barno for the start of the year via a reserve/PUP designation. Carolina also moved on from wideout Terrace Marshall after failing to find a trade partner. Cornerback Dane Jackson and safety Sam Franklin will begin the year on injured reserve, but they have been designated for return and will not count on the opening 53-man roster.

Here are the team’s other moves ahead of the cutdown deadline:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Ford signed as a free agent earlier this month, giving the Panthers another option at the safety position. That spot has seen considerable turnover this offseason, and Ford could find himself being brought back on a practice squad deal. Failing that, the veteran of 86 games and 21 starts will aim to land a gig with a new team ahead of Week 1.

Choosing to move on from four tight ends is a strong sign of confidence in the trio still on the 53-man roster, a group which includes two recent draft additions. Ja’Tavion Sanders (fourth round, 2024) and Tommy Tremble (third round, 2021) will be joined by veteran Ian Thomas at the position this season, the first with Dave Canales in place as head coach.

While Jackson and Franklin are eligible to be activated beginning in Week 5, Davis and Gill are not. They will be sidelined for the entire 2024 campaign as a result of today’s decision. Bother players are pending free agents, and their respective injuries will of course hinder their market value next spring.

Panthers Sign 19 UDFA Rookies

May 11th, 2024 at 3:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The Panthers were able to address some weak spots on the roster with their draft picks last month but weren’t able to add much help to the offensive and defensive fronts. Thanks to a number of departures and a relatively small, seven-man draft class, Carolina was able to add a large, 19-man undrafted free agent group that does just that. Here’s the list of new UDFAs:

On offense, the Panthers add a little depth and a bit of potential, as well. Plummer was a journeyman in college, playing at Purdue for four years before spending a year each at Cal and Louisville. After a quiet tenure with the Boilermakers, Plummer delivered back-to-back 3,000-yard, 21-touchdown passing seasons for the Golden Bears and Cardinals.

At running back, Shirden doesn’t have much size or power, but his quick burst and speed are great attributes. In 2022, he led the FCS in rushing with 1,722 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 8.4 yards per carry. He followed that up in 2023 with 1,478 yards and 10 touchdowns. Coker was another small school phenom at Holy Cross. In his final two years, Coker caught 109 balls for 1,952 yards and 26 touchdowns. The jump in competition will be large for both players, but if they can make the adjustment, they could each earn roster spots.

Raym could be an underrated addition as a backup center after 29 starts at the position for the Sooners. He lacks perfect technique and athleticism but has toughness and instincts that could help him succeed in the NFL, and we’ve seen other linemen out of Oklahoma with similar limitations strive in the league.

On defense, Carolina brings in the try-hard Husky Mitchell. In all three years as a full-time starter, Mitchell led his team in tackles with 120, 140, and 113 from 2021-23. He stuffed the stat sheet over his collegiate career with 25 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, 10 passes defensed, and three interceptions. He struggles to overcome blockers and doesn’t cover well, but his above-average play recognition could make him a nuisance.

The Panthers added a small school phenom on defense, as well. Drew comes in from Virginia State, where he dominated in his last two seasons as a starter. He showed elite ball skills, racking up 34 passes defensed and 11 interceptions in those two years. Like Shirden and Coker, he’ll need to trust his abilities and develop to compete with much tougher competition.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.