Tag: Cole Luke

Washington signs cornerback off Carolina’s practice squad

Washington made a couple of roster moves on Wednesday.

The Washington Football Team placed cornerback Darryl Roberts on injured reserve Tuesday. In a corresponding move, Washington signed cornerback Corn Elder off the Carolina Panthers practice squad.

Roberts is battling a quad injury after being active on game day for the first time this season in the Week 5 loss to the Saints. His injury comes one week after Washington lost Torry McTyer for the season with a knee injury.

Elder is a familiar face for Washington coach Ron Rivera. Elder was a fifth-round pick by the Panthers in 2017 when Rivera was the head coach and current personnel executive Marty Hurney was the general manager. He spent two seasons with the Panthers before he was released in 2019.

The Giants signed Elder to their practice squad, but the Panthers signed him back to their active roster. He spent the remainder of 2019 and all of 2020 with the Panthers. He signed with the Lions in April but was released this summer during final cuts.

The Panthers again signed Elder, this time to the practice squad. Elder has appeared in 30 career NFL games.

It’s not surprising Rivera uses his former connections to Carolina to add depth to Washington’s roster.

Washington also released kicker Chris Blewitt from its practice squad and re-signed safety Cole Luke to the practice squad. Luke, another former Panther, was with Washington last season and was released this summer.

Washington promotes DB Cole Luke from practice squad; signed to 2-year deal

Washington promoted former Carolina Panthers DB Cole Luke to the active roster from the practice squad and adding depth to the secondary.

The Washington Football Team is making a roster move to start the weekend, promoting DB COle Luke from the practice squad and signing him to a two-year deal.

Luke spent two years with the Carolina Panthers after signing with the Ron Rivera-coached team in 2017 after going undrafted out of Notre Dame. In Carolina, Luke played in 8 games in 2019 where he amassed just three total tackles.

Luke is listed as a DB, but he primarily plays at the cornerback position. With the injuries that Washington has had at safety, losing Landon Collins for the season and now Deshazor Everett for an unknown amount of time with a high ankle sprain, it will be interesting to see how Washington deploys Luke and where he will fit in the secondary.

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Panthers bringing back QB Kyle Allen on 1-year extension

Today, backup quarterback Kyle Allen became the latest to do so.

The Carolina Panthers have re-signed backup quarterback Kyle Allen to a one-year deal.

Allen was called into action in the wake of Cam Newton’s season-ending Lisfranc injury. Things started out well for Allen, who mostly managed to avoid making horrible mistakes during his opening 4-0 run. He only won one more start the rest of the season, though. As the year went on, Allen’s game regressed. In the end, he threw nearly as many interceptions (16) as touchdowns (17) and fumbled 13 times.

Allen finished 2019 having completed just 62% of his passes, averaging 11 yards per completion and posting an 80.0 passer rating. He was eventually benched in favor of the rookie third-round pick Will Grier, who started the last two games of the season and was equally awful.

There were times when Allen flashed potential, though. Bringing him back for what will surely be a very cheap salary is not a terrible idea. He should never be asked to start 12 games again, but a couple here and there if the starter gets injured is fine.

Panthers announce another 1-year deal for K Joey Slye

Today, the team announced another one for kicker Joey Slye.

This week the Carolina Panthers seem to be focused on re-signing their exclusive rights free agents for 2020. Running back Reggie Bonnafon and defensive back Cole Luke have already agreed to one-year deals.

Today, the team announced another one for kicker Joey Slye.

Slye had to fill in for Graham Gano, who missed the entire season due to a broken leg he suffered in practice.

The rookie got off to a hot start in 2019, demonstrating reliable range from beyond 50 yards. Unfortunately, Slye began struggling with the trip to London and eventually cost the team what should have been a critical upset win in New Orleans. In the end, Slye connected on 25 of his 32 field goal attempts (78.1%) and 31 of 35 extra point attempts (88.6%).

Slye is still young and won’t cost much, though. Keeping him and Gano on the roster means that the Panthers should have a robust competition at kicker during training camp.

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Panthers DB Cole Luke signs 1-year contract extension

Like Bonnafon, Luke spent the whole 2018 season on Carolina’s practice  squad

The Panthers are beginning to re-sign some of their pending restricted free agents for the 2020 NFL season. Yesterday, the team announced that backup running back Reggie Bonnafon was signing a one-year extension. Today, it’s defensive back Cole Luke.

Like Bonnafon, Luke spent the whole 2018 season on Carolina’s practice  squad. He worked his way up and earned some playing time this year. Luke was on the field for 15 defensive snaps (1%) and 117 on special teams (24%).

This move is all about secondary and special teams depth. They’re going to need a whole lot more of both if they’re going to turn things around.

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