Tag: t.j. luther

Panthers sign 10 players to reserve/future contracts on Monday

The Panthers have signed 10 players to reserve/future deals ahead of the 2025 season.

Even after closing out their 2024 campaign on a winning note yesterday, the Carolina Panthers still had a bit of work to do on their “Victory Monday.”

According to ESPN’s David Newton, the team signed 10 players to reserve/future deals this afternoon. Those players are as follows:

  • RB Emani Bailey
  • WR T.J. Luther
  • WR Dax Milne
  • TE Dominique Dafney
  • TE Jordan Matthews
  • G Ja’Tyre Carter
  • G Brandon Walton
  • C Andrew Raym
  • LB Kenny Dyson
  • LB Thomas Incoom

All 10 players have spent time on Carolina’s practice squad in 2024, with five receiving at least one appearance for the team during the regular season. Most recently, Dyson and Incoom both appeared in Sunday’s 44-38 victory over the Atlanta Falcons—with the former recording 23 total snaps and the latter 19 total snaps.

Reserve/future deals are essentially advance agreements, placing players in until the start of the new league year—when rosters expand back to 90 men. The players signed today will not count towards the current (and locked) 53-man roster.

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Panthers announce flurry of practice-squad moves, including 4 additions

The Panthers have signed RB Emani Bailey, TCU’s leading rusher from 2023, to their practice squad along with three others.

The Carolina Panthers made a handful of moves to their practice squad on Tuesday.

As announced this afternoon, the team has signed four players to the group—including running back Emani Bailey. The 23-year-old is an undrafted rookie out of Texas Christian University.

A Dallas, Texas native, Bailey played his first two seasons of collegiate ball (2020 to 2021) at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Over 16 games as a Ragin’ Cajun, he rushed for 702 yards and eight touchdowns on 112 carries.

Bailey transferred over to TCU in time for the 2022 campaign, where he was positioned behind Kendre Miller and Emari Demercado on the Horned Frogs’ depth chart. He took over starting duties in 2023, running for 1,209 yards and eight scores in 12 games.

The 5-foot-8, 201-pounder broke into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs this past spring. Bailey would, however, be selected in 2024 UFL draft in July—as he was taken in the third round by the Birmingham Stallions.

He’d remain with the Chiefs through the summer and go on to appear in all three of their preseason contests, amassing 29 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

Carolina also added wide receiver T.J. Luther, tight end Dominique Dafney and outside linebacker Thomas Incoom—who was waived from the 53-man roster this past Saturday.

To make room for the signings, the Panthers released wide receiver Sam Pinckney and safety Alex Cook from the practice squad.

They also placed running back Dillon Johnson and tight end Stephen Sullivan on the practice squad/injured list. Sullivan, as noted by head coach Dave Canales on Monday, sustained a “pretty significant” knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Steelers add wide recever, defensive back to roster

The Steelers signed two free agents on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced they had added a wide receiver. No, not that wide receiver. The team announced they had signed wide receiver T.J. Luther and defensive back Zyon Gilbert.

Luther is headed into his second NFL season. Luther was originally signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Luther spent the 2023 season with the Jets and New England Patriots. Luther played his college ball at Gardner-Webb.

Gilbert joined the NFL in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic. In two seasons, Gilbert has been with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. He appeared in three games for the Packers in 2023 and got one start. He finished 2023 with 14 tackles.

The Steelers continue to shuffle the training camp roster as they prepare to take on the Buffalo Bills in Week Two. The Steelers fell to the Houston Texans 20-12 in their first preseason game.

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Patriots announce release of former standout college WR

The Patriots announced two moves on Thursday

The New England Patriots announced they have released receiver T.J. Luther as a corresponding move to signing wideout JaQaue Jackson on Thursday.

Luther was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2023 and was released before the start of the season. Shortly after, he signed with the Patriots and was released by the organization last October, before being re-signed to the practice squad.

Luther was a standout for Gardner-Webb, recording 55 catches for 1,055 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022.

Even with Luther’s exit, the Patriots are stocked at the wide receiver position with 12 currently on the roster. The shuffling act is going to be an ongoing process as the team continues to tinker with their roster ahead of training camp.

Report: Patriots bringing undrafted rookie WR back to practice squad

The Patriots have reportedly signed a rookie receiver back to the practice squad.

The New England Patriots are bolstering their decimated wide receiver position by bringing back a familiar face in rookie wideout T.J. Luther.

Per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed, the Patriots signed Luther to the practice squad on Tuesday.

Luther was released by New England in the middle of October, after initially signing with the team in September. The rookie wideout first signed with the New York Jets after going undrafted in the 2023 NFL draft.

He has shown the ability to help out as both a receiver and on special teams. So he fits the bill as an interchangeable option for Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

New England lost Kendrick Bourne to a season-ending ACL injury in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins, and DeVante Parker missed Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders with a head injury. Throw in the fact that Tyquan Thornton was just benched after 12 snaps, and it’s clear that an opportunity has come knocking for Luther.

We’ll see if the former Gardner-Webb University standout can take advantage of it the second time around.

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Patriots QB Malik Cunningham reemerges as one of five practice players of the week

Patriots rookie QB Malik Cunningham is still making waves behind the scenes

The New England Patriots returned to the practice field on Wednesday after their big divisional victory over the New York Jets last Sunday.

Five players could be seen wearing a black jersey, which indicates those individuals being honored as the practice players of the week. It’s a welcome return to that tradition for New England after losing the previous two weeks to the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins.

One of the players wearing a black jersey was rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham, who has been a bit of a mystery since he exploded onto the scene in the preseason.

Here are the practice players of the week after the Patriots’ first win of the season:

Report: Patriots signing rookie WR T.J. Luther to practice squad

The Patriots continue loading up at wide receiver.

It’s raining receivers for the New England Patriots.

KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson reported on Friday that the Patriots are signing undrafted rookie wide receiver T.J. Luther to their practice squad.

It’s a necessary addition given the injuries the team has dealt with at the position. Second-year wideout Tyquan Thornton was recently placed on injured reserve for a shoulder injury, while veteran DeVante Parker has missed multiple practices.

Rookie wideout Demario Douglas has also been dealing with a shoulder injury, but given his recent comments, he appears to be ready to go for the regular season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Luther initially signed with the New York Jets and failed to make the 53-man roster. In his final season at Gardner-Webb, he closed out his collegiate career with 63 catches for 1,166 yards and eight touchdowns.

He worked in a bit on special teams with the Jets, which is always a plus in the eyes of Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Being versatile would increase his chances of sticking around in New England.

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2023 NFL draft: Chargers held private workout with WR T.J. Luther

T.J. Luther was a first-team All-Big South Conference choice in 2022.

According to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson, the Chargers held a private workout with wide receiver T.J. Luther.

After starting out at Wofford, Luther transferred to Gardner-Webb. In 2022, he had the best season of his career, catching 63 passes for 1,166 yards and eight touchdowns with an average of 18.5 yards per reception.

Luther finished his collegiate career with 125 catches for 2,428 yards and 20 scores. He also had 3,455 all-purpose yards.

The 6-foot-1 and 180-pound wideout has been clocked with a sub-4.4 40-yard dash, the type of speed Los Angeles needs to inject into the position room.

While speed is needed at wide receiver, the Chargers are also in search of a return specialist, which is a role that Luther is capable of holding.

Patriots reportedly hosted rising WR prospect on pre-draft visit

Could this Day 3 draft prospect be an option for the Patriots?

The New England Patriots clearly have their eye on more than just the high-end prospects in the 2023 NFL draft. Granted, they could be in play for one of those prospects with the No. 14 overall pick, but there might also be value picks later in the draft.

That’s where Gardner-Webb wideout T.J. Luther could come into play.

KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson confirmed Luther was on a pre-draft visit with the Patriots through a league source. This could be a year where we see New England double dip at receiver considering their past struggles in drafting talent at the position.

Luther, who racked up 63 receptions for 1,166 yards and eight touchdowns, could be a solid Day 3 option for the team. He ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at Charlotte Football’s pro day. So he clearly has the sort of outside speed the Patriots desperately need to open things up more offensively.

At the very least, he’s another viable option for a team eager to put an end to past draft blunders at the receiver position.

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Report: Colts to host WR T.J. Luther on pre-draft visit

The Colts reportedly are bringing in WR T.J. Luther for a pre-draft visit.

The Indianapolis Colts reportedly are scheduled to host Gardner Webb wide receiver T.J. Luther on a visit ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.

Luther may have gotten himself on the map in front of NFL teams when he attended the University of Charlotte’s pro day ahead of the draft. According to Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston, Luther put on an impressive show of athleticism.

It was enough to intrigue the Colts, who reportedly are bringing Luther in for a top-30 visit.

Luther is an older prospect and will be 23 years old when the regular season starts. He spent the final two seasons of his career at Gardner Webb after transferring from Wofford.

In 2022, Luther recorded 55 receptions for 1,035 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Colts like to use their top-30 visits on prospects who didn’t attend the NFL combine or any of the offseason all-star games such as the Senior Bowl.

Luther is likely going to be a late Day 3 pick or an undrafted free agent, but the Colts are showing at least a little bit of interest ahead of the draft.

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