After what was apparently a successful visit on Thursday, LB Kamal Martin has been added to the Panthers’ practice squad.
As announced by the team on Friday, the Carolina Panthers have signed linebacker Kamal Martin to their practice squad. Martin, who left a trip to Seattle last week without a contract offer, had been brought in for a visit on Thursday.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound backer was released by the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 23. Despite being a fifth-round selection just a year prior, he was caught up in the numbers game during their 53-man roster cutdown.
Martin started from the inside in six of his ten games played during his rookie campaign. He totaled 24 tackles and 1.0 sack.
The Panthers have been seeking out depth to add to the linebacker position this summer. Even with the emergence of backup Frankie Luvu as a solid fourth option, the defense still lacks on personnel behind the starting group of Shaq Thompson, Jermaine Carter Jr. and Haason Reddick.
In the corresponding move to get Martin onto the practice squad, cornerback Jalen Julius was released.
2019 third-round selection Will Grier was amongst the team’s early cuts on Tuesday morning. So not only has the 26-year-old quarterback lost out in the battle for the backup spot to starter Sam Darnold, but he’s now lost out on his spot completely.
Grier struggled to see the field since he was drafted, then struggled when he did, totaling just 228 yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 28 of his 52 attempts (53.8 percent) over his only two appearances. Although he wasn’t as offensive this preseason, he obviously did not do enough to inspire the staff to keep him onboard into his third year.
Joining Grier in the early cuts are outside linebacker Christian Miller (the pick after Grier in 2019), linebacker Josh Bynes, wide receivers Omar Bayless, C.J. Saunders and Keith Kirkwood, tight end Stephen Sullivan, offensive linemen Sam Tecklenburg, Mike Horton and Aaron Monteiro, running back Spencer Brown, cornerback Jalen Julius and defensive lineman Frank Herron.
According to Joseph Person of The Athletic, the team has let cornerback Jalen Julius know of their intentions to waive him. Julius signed with Carolina back in April.
Panthers have let safety Jalen Julius known they're waiving him, per league source. Practice squad a possibility for the former Mississippi DB.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder cracked into the league two years ago as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs out of the University of Mississippi. With the Rebels, he totaled 138 tackles and 1.5 sack over four seasons.
Although the Panthers have grown a bit thin at corner, mostly notably with the season-ending ACL injury to Troy Pride Jr. and the two-game suspension of A.J. Bouye, Julius was not expected to make the roster. He could, as Person also notes, be a candidate for the practice squad.
Panthers sign defensive backs J.T. Ibe and Jalen Julius
Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer doesn’t have an easy task ahead of him. He’s gone from helping build the “Legion of Boom” in Seattle to now having to improve on his current team’s “Legion of Whom?”
The Panthers’ frighteningly thin secondary may be getting some help, however, with Fitterer’s latest additions in safety J.T. Ibe and cornerback Jalen Julius. The team, as first reported by Darin Gantt, signed the two defensive backs early Tuesday evening.
Ibe attended Rice University from 2014 to 2017, totaling 121 tackles over 32 games. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound safety then transferred to the University of South Carolina for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, where he’d start 14 of his 15 games played.
Julius, 5-foot-10 and 192 pounds, suited up for 38 contests over five years at Ole Miss. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in April of 2020 and was later cut as part of the team’s training-camp trim that summer.
How does Ole Miss DB Jalen Julius fit with the Kansas City Chiefs?
Julius played running back, receiver, cornerback and kick returner in high school in Florida. He was a three-star recruit out of West Orange, receiving offers from 13 schools including Ole Miss, which is where he ended up. Once he signed with the Rebels, he settled in playing cornerback full time in each of his first three seasons.
Julius intended to transfer ahead of the 2018 season, but ultimately changed his mind and went back to Ole Miss. He showed versatility as a senior in 2019, making the switch to free safety from cornerback and starting every game at the position.
Stats:
2015: Redshirt year.
2016: 7 games played. 21 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and two passes defended.
2017: 8 games played. 15 tackles and one pass defended.
2018: 11 games played. 34 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three passes defended and two forced fumbles.
2019: 12 games played. 68 total tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and seven passes defended.
Julius is not the biggest defensive back out there, but he’s a punishing hitter who knows angles and makes form tackles. He never got a chance to show off his speed at a combine or official pro day, but it has been reported that he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at an unofficial pro day.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a need for a versatile defensive back following Kendall Fuller’s departure in free agency. They brought in a number of different undrafted free agents who fit the mold, but Julius is one who has experience and success making the switch from corner to safety.
Don’t be surprised if Julius makes a push to earn a job as a return specialist too. While he never was utilized there in college, he was explosive returning the football in high school. He recorded two kick returns for touchdowns during his senior season.
At times Ole Miss did discuss using Julius as a punt returner and he was confident in his abilities there.
“I’m comfortable with that because I’m a playmaker,” Julius said in 2016. “If they kick it to me, hopefully, I’m going to score. I’m comfortable with it because I think I have a knack for it.”
Toughness, versatility and confidence is the name of the game for Julius. All of those traits will help him go far in the NFL.
