The Carolina Panthers’ Tommy Stevens experiment appears to be over . . . at least for now. On Tuesday, the team announced the signing of receiver C.J. Saunders. To make room for the undrafted rookie wideout, Stevens was waived.
A 2020 seventh-round draft pick out of Mississippi State by the New Orleans Saints, Stevens began his transition from quarterback to tight end under head coach Sean Payton, drawing some comparisons to everyone’s favorite football Swiss Army knife, Taysom Hill. The Saints, who plucked Stevens partly to keep him away from Carolina, then released him on Nov. 10, only to have the Panthers sign him to their practice squad six days later.
Stevens saw some regular season action in Week 17 of the 2020 campaign, rushing for 24 yards on four attempts against (you guessed it) New Orleans. Most recently, he was working out as a tight end at the team’s OTAs last week despite still being listed as a quarterback.
Saunders broke in at Ohio State University as a walk-on in 2016. He was awarded a scholarship from the institution a year later, upon switching from cornerback to wide receiver, and became the first walk-on for the Buckeyes since 2016 to be named a team captain, an honor he earned in 2019.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Ohio native played in 23 games at the collegiate level, recording 27 receptions for 294 yards and a touchdown. After missing the 2019 season with a knee injury and serving as a student coach in 2020, Saunders was denied a sixth year of eligibility and went untouched in this year’s draft.
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