Stanford fills the opening created when Jarrad Davis signed with the Giants
The Detroit Lions signed linebacker Julian Stanford to the team’s practice squad on Tuesday. Stanford went through a formal visit with Detroit before signing.
Stanford, 32, might be a familiar name for longtime Lions fans. He was with the Lions back in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He played almost exclusively on special teams.
The journeyman was last with the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season, appearing in one game. He’s also had stops with Carolina, the Jets, Bills and Jaguars.
The Panthers released LB Julian Stanford from IR on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Carolina Panthers cut ties with head coach Matt Rhule, defensive coordinator Phil Snow and assistant special teams coach Ed Foley. Then, not too long after, a player would join the trio on the chopping block.
That player was Julian Stanford, who was released from injured reserve on Tuesday. The 32-year-old linebacker has spent the past three seasons with the organization.
Stanford first broke into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012. The Wagner College product played in all 16 games during his rookie campaign—including six starts—registering 23 tackles and a fumble recovery.
He’d then go on to pick up stops with the Detroit Lions, New York Jets and Buffalo Bills between 2013 and 2019. Stanford, over those next six seasons, totaled 70 tackles in 72 games.
After being released by Buffalo in March of 2020, Stanford eventually signed on with Carolina that summer. In his two seasons for the Panthers, primarily as a special teams piece, he chalked up 24 takedowns in 33 games.
LB Julian Stanford is now the latest player to be re-signed by the Panthers before the start of free agency.
The Carolina Panthers started their day by re-signing kicker Zane Gonzalez, one of the bright spots on special teams in 2021. Now, they’ve ended their day by inking another key player on the unit.
Linebacker Julian Stanford, as announced by the team on Wednesday night, has agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension. The deal brings the 31-year-old right back less than a week before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Stanford, who has been with the organization since 2020, played in each of the Panthers’ 33 games over the past two campaigns. That pair of seasons saw the eighth-year veteran lead Carolina’s special teams in tackles with 11 in 2021 and seven the year prior.
He now joins, along with Gonzalez, a handful of other players the Panthers have pulled back from the open market. That group also includes long snapper J.J. Jansen, linebacker Frankie Luvu and tight end Ian Thomas.
A summer’s worth of evaluations and a few days’ worth of departures has left us with this, the initial 53-man roster of the 2021 Carolina Panthers.
Just 15 minutes before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET, the Carolina Panthers made their final move to reach the 53-man roster limit. That casualty comes at the expense of running back Rodney Smith, who the team has now waived.
So, after a summer’s worth of evaluations and a few days’ worth of cuts, here were are. This is the Panthers’ initial 53-man roster heading into the 2021 regular season:
Quarterbacks (2): Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker
Running backs (3): Christian McCaffrey, Chuba Hubbard, Trenton Cannon
Fullback (1): Giovanni Ricci
Wide receivers (6) : DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, Terrace Marshall Jr., David Moore, Brandon Zylstra, Shi Smith
Tight ends (4): Dan Arnold, Ian Thomas, Tommy Tremble, Colin Thompson
Offensive line (9): Cameron Erving, Pat Elflein, Matt Paradis, John Miller, Taylor Moton, Trent Scott, Dennis Daley, Brady Christensen, Deonte Brown
Defensive line (10): Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, DaQuan Jones, Morgan Fox, Yetur Gross-Matos, Marquis Haynes, Darryl Johnson, Daviyon Nixon, Bravvion Roy, Phil Hoskins
Defensive backs (9): Donte Jackson, Jaycee Horn, Jeremy Chinn, Juston Burris, Keith Taylor, Myles Hartsfield, Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, Sam Franklin, Sean Chandler
Specialists (3): Ryan Santoso, Joseph Charlton, J.J. Jansen
Obviously, the roster is subject to change leading up to their Week 1 matchup with the New York Jets. There will be plenty of players who were let go elsewhere that may pique the braintrust’s interest.
But until then, these are your first 53, Carolina.
What implications does the trade for DE Darryl Johnson have in the Panthers’ plans moving forward?
The current construction of the Buffalo Bills, just about from up to down, contains numerous beams that were originally established in the Carolina Panthers organization. So many, in fact, they earned the playful nickname of “Carolina North” from the folks down and around in the Tar Heel State.
Well, it now seems as though the Panthers may be on their way to earning themselves a “Buffalo South” moniker.
Ok, maybe not quite yet, but they did syphon some talent back their way from Buffalo, trading for defensive end Darryl Johnson early on Monday afternoon. The deal was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, soon after the team announced the day’s practice and media availability was cancelled.
So, with Tuesday’s 53-man roster deadline approaching, this’ll certainly have some implications on what the team ultimately looks like. First off, how would head coach Matt Rhule and his staff try to employ Johnson?
Despite being listed as an end (and standing at a towering 6-foot-6 and 262 pounds), the 2019 seventh-rounder can squeeze into the mold as a linebacker, particularly one that can be utilized on special teams.
Johnson did show promise as a rotational piece for Buffalo in his two campaigns there, amassing a pair of sacks and five quarterback hits while playing in 31 of 32 games. Though it’s his proven capability as a core special teamer, and the potential for more on defense given his traits, that has apparently caught the franchise’s eye.
The Panthers, as stated by general manager Scott Fitterer, highlighted linebacker depth as one of the areas that particularly needed help. Last week’s trade of oft-absent Denzel Perryman knocked the team down to its starting trio of Shaq Thompson, Jermaine Carter Jr. and Haason Reddick ahead of backups Frankie Luvu, Clay Johnston, Julian Stanford and Josh Bynes.
Luvu, along with the starters, are assured their jerseys through Tuesday. That could mean any of the bubbles between Johnston, Stanford and Bynes are in jeopardy of being popped before 4 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Defensive end Christian Miller might be another name to watch as a development of the deal. He would potentially lose out in a pure numbers game, as he’s been solid this summer. But if Fitterer and Rhule decide to roster Johnson at his expense, it’s because he’s the lowest man left on the defensive end totem pole.
To keep track of all the Panthers’ cuts in the upcoming 26 hours, follow along here.
Linebacker is one of the positions the Carolina Panthers have reinforced the most this offseason.
Linebacker is one of the positions the Carolina Panthers have reinforced the most this offseason. They upgraded inside by signing Denzel Perryman to replace Tahir Whitehead and also boosted their outside pass rush with Haason Reddick the same day. The work continued today, with the team bringing back a veteran depth piece. According to Darin Gantt, the Panthers have re-signed Julian Stanford.
Stanford is a special teams ace who came to Carolina from Buffalo. Last season he played all 16 games and was on the field for 277 snaps – mostly on special teams – which he led in tackles.
After playing his college ball at Wagner, Stanford went undrafted but he’s gone on to appear in 104 NFL games. His experience should be a welcome commodity for a young Carolina team. Overall, they are tied with the Vikings for the second-youngest roster in the league.
By our count, Stanford brings the roster to 90 players.
According to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Panthers have released linebacker Andre Smith.
The #Panthers have released LB Andre Smith, source said, a former 2018 draft pick. He’s become a special teams core player in Carolina, and likely catches on in that role elsewhere.
According to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Panthers have released linebacker Andre Smith.
Like the recently released running back Jordan Scarlett, Smith was another questionable late round draft pick by general manager Marty Hurney. We thought he had a shot to make the 53-man roster this year, but that was never a sure thing. Experience is at a premium this season given the lack of preseason games and most of the offseason being canceled due to the pandemic. That’s going to put players like Smith at a major disadvantage as cuts begin later this week.
Smith getting cut is good news for veteran linebackers like Adarius Taylor and Julian Stanford, who are competing for a roster spot at the bottom end of the depth chart at this position. Whoever stands out on special teams will have the best chance to survive when rosters are trimmed down.
There probably won’t be many highlights coming out of this practice due to restrictions on what reporters are allowed to show this year. So, we will have to settle for a box score for now. For what it’s worth, Bridgewater had a fine day based on the raw stats.
The Riot Report says he started 9/13 for 159 yards and two touchdowns and had another wiped out by a penalty.
Panthers just had a two hour scrimmage inside BoA Stadium (thread)
Bridgewater started 9/13 for 159 yds and 2 TDs (Manhertz & CMC) against a variety of defenses (all QBs did reps vs both starters & backups)
Final drill had Mike Davis TD reception (from Teddy) erased by holding.
Strong numbers, but they should be taken with an unhealthy dose of salt as Bridgewater faced backups as well as starters. Also, some analysts are projecting the Panthers will have the NFL’s worst defense this year, so odds are they are going to make a lot of quarterbacks look good.
That said, this is another positive sign for Bridgewater, who has done everything right so far – including staying late to get extra reps in. He continued that trend today.
The Carolina Panthers added a veteran linebacker Saturday. Special teams ace Julian Stanford had a tryout with the team earlier this week along with two other free agents at his position. Stanford did well enough to earn himself a contract, making …
The Carolina Panthers added a veteran linebacker Saturday.
Special teams ace Julian Stanford had a tryout with the team earlier this week along with two other free agents at his position. Stanford did well enough to earn himself a contract, making Carolina his sixth team since entering the league in 2012, most recently with the Bills.
#Panthers have signed veteran LB Julian Stanford. He’ll wear No. 46. As a corresponding roster move, CAR has waived LB David Reese. https://t.co/SgvwYUYbo8
He played in all 16 games for Buffalo in 2019, playing mostly special teams. That’s been primarily what he has done throughout his career, which has also included stops in Jacksonville, Detroit, Tampa Bay and the New York Jets. He has played in 88 career games and has 93 career tackles and one sack.
Stanford has already passed the COVID-19 testing protocols.
Undrafted rookie linebacker David Reese was waived in a corresponding move.
The Buffalo Bills did plenty of roster tinkering over the past few months. In doing so, space has to be made for new additions.
NFL teams can only hold around 90 players on their rosters heading into training camp. Unfortunately, that leaves some players in the dust.
Now, that doesn’t mean the Bills won’t re-add some of these players, or perhaps another team comes in and picks them up. But at the time being, things are in a bit of a standstill.
Here’s a quick look at the couple players the Bills rostered last season that haven’t been signed by a team just yet:
2019: 0 games played Bills: 0 games played Career: 61 games played, 2018 PFF grade: 75th best tackle
Not much to breakdown here, unfortunately. The Bills added and added and added to their offensive line last season, hoping to find the right mix. Early in training camp, Waddle was taking reps with the depth players and he suffered a season-ending torn quadriceps injury in August.
Bills linebacker Maurice Alexander. Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
LB Maurice Alexander
Age: 30
Stats
2019: 7 games played, 11 tackles Bills: 7 games played, 11 tackles Career: 57 games played, 134 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 passes defended, 2 interceptions
A special teamer mostly for the Bills in Maurice Alexander. The Bills added Tyler Matakevich, a free agent via the Steelers this offseason, which could spell Alexander’s end in Buffalo.
Julian Stanford #51 of the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
LB Julian Stanford
Age: 29
Stats
2019: 16 games played, 8 tackles Bills: 29 games played, 23 tackles, 1 pass defended Career: 88 games played, 92 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defended
Similar to Maurice Alexander, a big special teams role, but also a positive backup for Julian Stanford in the few times he’s had to spell Tremaine Edmunds. Via Matakevich and running back Taiwan Jones, it looks like the Bills want to move in a new direction in terms of their special teamers.
Bills strong safety Kurt Coleman. Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
S Kurt Coleman
Age: 32
Stats
2019: 14 games played, 3 tackles Bills: 14 games played, 3 tackles Career: 146 games played, 554 tackles tackles, 36 passes defended, 2 sacks, 21 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles
Coleman was a staple on the Bills roster as a special teamer in 2019. He has some defensive experience while in Carolina from 2014-2017, playing under Sean McDermott then. That’s an overlying reason the Bills sign plenty of players. Buffalo didn’t massively address their safety room this offseason, but did sign two UDFA safeties in Garrett Taylor and Josh Thomas, so it appears they want to get younger here.
Bills defensive tackle Corey Liuget. Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
DT Corey Liuget
Age: 30
2019: 10 games played, 13 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack Bills: 7 games played, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack Career: 118 games played, 287 tackles, 64 tackles for loss, 25 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 20 passes defender
A mid-season addition for the Bills, Corey Liuget played a depth role in Buffalo’s defensive line. Of all the team’s free agents still on the market, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the former first-round pick added at a later date, depending on how thing shake down. Quinton Jefferson can play on the inside of the line, but if a camp injury pops up, there could be a spot for Liuget.
