Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Panthers have signed 11 members of their practice squad to future deals.
Carolina Panthers assistant general manager Dan Morgan began the organization’s transition from Scott Fitterer on Monday.
In addition to signing tight end Stephen Sullivan and defensive linemen Nick Thurman and LaBryan Ray to one-year extensions, the team also brought back 11 practice squad members on future deals.
Here are those 11 players:
The Panthers have elevated G J.D. DiRenzo and CB AJ Parker for their Week 17 matchup against the Jaguars.
For the first time in three weekends, the Carolina Panthers won’t be double-dipping into their practice squad for a pair of hog mollies.
As first reported by Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com on Saturday afternoon, the team is calling up guard J.D. DiRenzo and cornerback AJ Parker for their Week 17 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both are standard elevations.
DiRenzo had been brought up the previous two games alongside fellow guard Gabe Jackson, who was officially added to the active roster on Friday night. The undrafted rookie lined up for four offensive snaps in the Week 15 win over the Atlanta Falcons and for one in the Week 16 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Parker, who signed to the Panthers’ practice squad on Nov. 22, will be making his first trip up to the game day roster as the defense deals with injuries to corners Jaycee Horn (questionable) and Troy Hill (out). The 5-foot-11, 178-pound defender appeared in 16 games for the Detroit Lions between 2021 and 2022.
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The Panthers got back up to a 16-player practice squad with Wednesday’s additions of G Justin McCray and CB AJ Parker.
Tuesday’s loss of linebacker Blake Martinez, who was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers, left the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad with just 14 players. But they filled their two vacancies this afternoon.
The team announced their additions of cornerback AJ Parker and offensive lineman Justin McCray, who has appeared in two games this season.
Here’s an updated look at the 16-man group:
After the losses of Austin Corbett and Dicaprio Bootle, the Panthers signed Justin McCray and AJ Parker to their practice squad.
The bruised and battered Carolina Panthers will have to finish the 2023 campaign without one of their best players.
On Wednesday, the team announced that they’ve placed starting right guard Austin Corbett on injured reserve. The sixth-year offensive lineman, who sustained a left knee injury in the Week 11 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, is now expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Carolina also shelved cornerback Dicaprio Bootle with a knee injury of his own. The 26-year-old has played in eight games for the Panthers this year, including a pair of starts over the last two weeks.
So, to pad their losses, the team added a pair of players to their practice squad.
One is a familiar name in guard Justin McCray, who has already appeared in two games for Carolina in 2023. McCray signed on with the Panthers this past spring, was waived during final roster cuts, brought back on the practice squad shortly after and released again last month.
The second addition is cornerback AJ Parker. Parker, who spent the summer with the San Francisco 49ers, played in 16 games for the Detroit Lions between 2021 and 2022.
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Several ex-Lions appeared on Tuesday’s NFL transaction wire, from releases to tryouts
The NFL publishes a daily transaction report, one that runs the gamut between roster cuts, players being placed on reserve lists to those trying out for teams and everything in between. Tuesday’s transaction list was crowded with updates on former Detroit Lions players.
Foremost on the list is Trey Flowers. The New England Patriots released the defensive end from the team’s PUP list. Flowers has not played this season and managed just 65 snaps for the Miami Dolphins in 2022 after the Lions released him following the 2021 season.
One-time Lions OL Tommy Kraemer is back on the New Orleans Saints practice squad. Kraemer was signed from New Orleans’ practice squad to their active roster last week, then waived on Monday. He’s played seven offensive snaps in two games with the Saints.
Another former Lions offensive lineman, Obinna Eze, had his practice squad contract terminated by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Eze signed with Pittsburgh’s practice squad after Week 3 but was unable to stick.
There were a few ex-Lions hitting the tryout/workout circuit this week, too:
QB Jeff Driskel tried out for the Colts (Monday)
DT Bruce Hector also tried out for the Colts
K Austin Seibert tried out for the Raiders
OL Ross Pierschbacher tried out for the Cardinals
CB AJ Parker tried out for the Seahawks
DB Juju Hughes tried out for the Raiders
As of Wednesday morning, none of the players were signed.
All three of them were cornerbacks.
The Seahawks brought in three free agents for workouts Tuesday, according to the NFL’s transactions report. All three of them were cornerbacks.
Here’s who came in for a visit at the VMAC today.
The #49ers placed 4 players on season-ending IR at their final roster cuts:
The 49ers on Tuesday placed four players on injured reserve as part of their maneuvers to get their roster cut down.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez, safety Tayler Hawkins, tight end Cameron Latu and cornerback AJ Parker were all sent to IR as part of the final cuts, which means their seasons are over with the 49ers. Players placed on IR after being named to the 53-man roster are eligible to return.
All four players who went on IR were banged up during the preseason finale vs. the Chargers.
Gonzalez is dealing with a calf injury he suffered during pregame warmups. Hawkins broke his hand and needs surgery per head coach Kyle Shanahan. Latu will also likely need surgery on a meniscus injury, and Parker is dealing with a hamstring strain he sustained while covering a punt.
That group will have a couple options.
They can stay on IR all year and rehab with the 49ers, or they can reach an injury settlement where they’re released from IR and become unrestricted free agents. Players released with injury settlements can’t re-sign with San Francisco until they length of their agreed-upon injury settlement has elapsed, plus an additional three weeks.
Another injury-related move was with cornerback Darrell Luter Jr., who was moved to the reserve/PUP list and will be required to miss at least the first four weeks. He’s working through a knee injury he sustained on the last day of OTAs.
There could be some additional injured list-related moves for the 49ers, but now that they’ve announced a 53-man roster those players will be eligible to return in 2023.
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Parker started in the slot as an undrafted rookie in 2021 but he played just 3 games last season
It did not take long for CB A.J. Parker to find a new NFL home. Hours after his contract with the Lions officially expired, Parker agreed to a reserve/future contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
Parker, who just finished his second NFL season, finished the 2022 campaign on the Lions practice squad. He was a starter at slot CB during his rookie campaign as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State but was cut at the end of the 2022 preseason.
He was one of eight Lions practice squad players who are now free agents after not signing a reserve/future contract with Detroit.
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Cornerback AJ Parker signs back to the Lions practice squad
AJ Parker is back with the Detroit Lions. The second-year cornerback signed onto Detroit’s practice squad on Tuesday.
Parker was waived last week after a poor showing in the Week 9 win over the Green Bay Packers. He has bounced between the practice squad and active roster throughout the season. Parker was the team’s primary slot corner in 2021 as an undrafted rookie from Kansas State.
Parker is currently the only cornerback on the team’s 16-member practice squad. He played 113 snaps in three games for the Lions thus far in 2022.
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The return of Jerry Jacobs and Mike Hughes in Week 9 made Parker expendable from the active roster
In a bit of an unexpected move, the Detroit Lions waived cornerback AJ Parker on Friday.
It’s the second time the Lions have parted ways with Parker this season. The second-year slot CB was previously waived at the end of the preseason and returned to Detroit’s practice squad.
The Lions re-signed Parker to the active roster after injuries to others, and No. 41 played over 100 defensive snaps in three games between Weeks 5-8. The return of Jerry Jacobs and a healthy Mike Hughes made Parker expendable.
The move opens up a roster spot. Expect the Lions to fill that on Saturday with either a wide receiver or a tight end.
