Quarterback Jake Luton is back with the Panthers.
The Panthers signed Luton on Monday because they needed a healthy quarterback with Andy Dalton dealing with a quad injury. They placed edge rusher Kemoko Turay on injured reserve in a corresponding move.
Luton spent time with the Panthers last summer and was on their practice squad until he was signed by the Saints in late September. He returned to the practice squad in Carolina after being released by the Saints in October.
His only regular season appearances came in three starts for the Jaguars during the 2020 season. Luton completed 54.5 percent of his passes while throwing two touchdowns and six interceptions in three Jacksonville losses.
The Panthers signed veteran tight end Jacob Hollister on Sunday, the team announced.
Hollister, 30, did not play last season. The Raiders placed him on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury before waiving him with an injury settlement.
Hollister played games for both the Vikings and Raiders in 2022.
He entered the NFL in 2017 as an undrafted rookie with the Patriots. He also has played for the Seahawks, Bills and Jaguars.
In his career, Hollister has 83 receptions for 707 yards and seven touchdowns.
Injuries have left the Panthers thin at tight end, with the team practicing with only three the past three practices. So, Hollister’s signing was much needed.
In a corresponding move, the Panthers waived/injured wide receiver Devin Carter.
The Panthers are waiting for word on how much time first-round pick Xavier Legette might miss with a lower leg injury, but they have a better idea of when second-round pick Jonathon Brooks might be able to play.
Brooks tore his ACL while playing at Texas last year and the running back remains on the non-football injury list. On Saturday, head coach Dave Canales said that Brooks will not play in the preseason but the team hopes he will be available to play around Week Three or Four of the regular season.
“It’s something we expected,’' Canales said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “Coming into the spring, we knew just the timeline and progression of where he was at. We knew we would not have him for the preseason. Even if he was kind of ready, there’s a confidence thing that we want to ramp him up little by little so he feels ready to go.”
The Panthers will have to activate Brooks before the cut to 53 players in order for him to be able to play before Week Five, so their decision on that front will be telling about whether things are progressing as hoped.
Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette left practice with a lower leg injury on Sunday and head coach Dave Canales said that the first-round pick would be evaluated by medical personnel to determine the extent of the injury.
Some results of that evaluation are reportedly in. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that X-rays of Legette’s leg were negative.
Rapoport adds that the rookie will also have an MRI before any final determinations of his status are made.
Legette missed time in the spring with a hamstring injury, but the current issue is not related to that one. The Panthers will be hoping that any tweak will not keep the wideout out of action for long.
Panthers first-round draft pick Xavier Legette had to leave practice early today.
Legette, a wide receiver out of South Carolina, injured his lower leg, head coach Dave Canales said.
“It’s something in his lower leg,” Canales said. “I don’t want to get into any details. We’re just going to evaluate him this afternoon as a precaution, and then we’ll go from there — I’ll have more information.”
Canales said today’s injury was not related to the hamstring injury that caused Legette to miss time during Organized Team Activities.
The Panthers traded up for Legette and hope he can develop a rapport with quarterback Bryce Young, and that the two of them become a productive pairing in Canales’ offense.
