Panthers Hosting Jarrett Stidham, Will Grier
Could the Panthers be in the market for a backup quarterback? They’re meeting with Auburn signal-caller Jarrett Stidham today, while Carolina has spent “considerable time” with West Virginia’s Will Grier, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter links). Cam Newton missed two starts last season, and the Panthers were subsequently forced to rely on unproven options like Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen under center. Head coach Ron Rivera indicated earlier this year that Carolina would likely eschew a veteran quarterback addition in favor of utilizing the draft, but as Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer tweets, it’s unclear how high of a pick the Panther are willing to use in order to land Newton’s new backup. Stidham, meanwhile, has also visited the Giants, per Pelissero.
Panthers To Host Miles Sanders
- Penn State running back Miles Sanders has been vaulting up draft boards (he currently ranks one spot behind Collier at No. 46 on Jeremiah’s list), and he has a busy schedule ahead of him. Sanders is scheduled to work out for/meet with the Bears, Eagles, Steelers, Ravens, Bills, Cowboys, Falcons, Titans, Bengals, Panthers, Buccaneers, and Colts. In 2018, Sanders’ only season as a starter, he posted 1,274 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 220 attempts.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves, with more Alliance of American Football players finding NFL homes:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Thomas Duarte (AAF), T Brandon Greene (AAF), WR Rashad Ross (AAF)
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Shakir Soto (AAF)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Tyrone Holmes (AAF)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DE Karter Schult (AAF)
New York Jets
- Signed: WR/KR Valentine Holmes (International Player Pathway Program signee)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Demornay Pierson-El (AAF)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: QB Luis Perez (AAF)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DT Winston Craig (AAF), LB J.T. Jones (AAF), CB Kameron Kelly (AAF)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Keith Towbridge (AAF), QB Logan Woodside (AAF)
Washington Redskins
- Signed: G Salesi Uhatafe (AAF)
Panthers Meet With Allen Bailey
Chiefs free agent defensive end Allen Bailey will visit with the Panthers on Monday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The incumbent Chiefs are still in the mix for Bailey and the defending champs may also have interest. 
Bailey cracked KC’s starting lineup in 2014 and has started in virtually all of his games over the last five years. Last year, he registered six sacks, 38 tackles, and two forced fumbles across 16 games. The advanced metrics weren’t high on Bailey (No. 91 ranked interior defender out of 112 players), but the sacks and game film show that he is an effective lineman.
The Panthers may employ a 3-4 scheme next season, which would suit Bailey well. With Carolina, he’d stick at DE, but he’d play on the interior with the Chiefs. Meanwhile, defensive tackle isn’t necessarily an area of need for Kansas City since they already have Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi, and Xavier Williams in that group.
Bailey just wrapped up a four-year extension that paid him $6.25MM annually. His next deal may pay him in a similar fashion.
Panthers Also Claimed Henderson
- Earlier today, the Jets claimed receiver/returner Quadree Henderson off waivers from the Giants. New York apparently had competition for Henderson’s services, as the Panthers also put in a claim for the return specialist, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Carolina didn’t have a consistent returner last year and instead rotated a string of players, so their interest makes a lot of sense. Henderson was one of the best returners in the nation during his college days at Pittsburgh, and has a good shot to earn the job in New York as the Jets just lost All-Pro returner Andre Roberts in free agency.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/5/19
We’ve got a bunch of minor moves today, with a handful of players being signed from the recently defunct AAF:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: G Kitt O’Brien, C Parker Collins (both from AAF)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: P Kasey Redfern
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OL Michael Dunn (AAF)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DB Duke Thomas, DB Derron Smith
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Alex Barrett, S Jordan Richards
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: C J.C. Hassenauer, DB Jack Tocho (both from AAF)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Damontre Moore (AAF)
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DE Andrew Ankrah (AAF)
First Two AAF Players Sign NFL Deals
That didn’t take long. Just a few hours after the AAF announced it would allow players to start signing NFL contracts effective immediately, two players have already inked deals. 
The Chiefs are signing cornerback Keith Reaser, while the Panthers have added receiver Rashad Ross, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). In a separate tweet, Schefter notes that Reaser is getting $100K upfront guaranteed in the form of various bonuses. That’s a significant chunk of change, and indicates Kansas City likely had competition for Reaser’s services.
Reaser comes from the Orlando Apollos, the team coached by Steve Spurrier that had the best regular season record before the AAF suspended operations. Ross comes from the Arizona Hotshots, and was one of the best players in the league before it shut down. He had multiple huge games, and was dominating AAF defenses.
Reaser spent parts of the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Chiefs, so there’s some familiarity there. He was originally drafted by the 49ers in the fifth round back in 2014. He spent most of the 2017 season on the practice squad, and was released with an injury settlement early last season. Ross was a 2013 undrafted free agent, who received his most run with the Redskins back in 2015 when he returned kicks and caught eight passes for 184 yards. The Arizona State product was with the Cardinals for part of last offseason, but hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since 2016.
The two are likely the first of many who will sign NFL contracts in the coming days and weeks. While the league was ultimately unsuccessful, it clearly was helpful to a good number of players in getting them back on NFL radars. Reaser has already landed more than an AAF salary, and there will surely be more to follow.
Panthers To Meet With S Taylor Rapp
- Rapp will be receiving a nice tour of the country this month, with a three-time zone trip on the horizon. The Lions, Rams, Giants and Panthers also booked pre-draft summits with the Washington safety, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com notes. A three-year Huskies contributor, Rapp intercepted seven passes and made at least 50 tackles in each of his college campaigns. Pauline expects Rapp to be a second-round pick.
Panthers Re-Sign Cameron Artis-Payne
The Panthers have re-signed running back Cameron Artis-Payne, according to his agents at Element Sports Group. Artis-Payne will provide support on the Panthers’ RB depth chart, behind starter Christian McCaffrey. 
Artis-Payne has had some success running the ball in limited snaps with the Panthers. In 2015, his first NFL season, Payne averaged 4.1 yards per carry off of 45 tries. His reps fell off from there, but he still boasts a respectable 4.2 yards per tote average.
He might not get a ton of opportunities in 2019 either, given the way McCaffrey performed last year. As an NFL sophomore, McCaffrey nearly totaled 1,110 yards on the ground with seven touchdowns. He also added 107 catches, 867 yards, and six receiving touchdowns, positioning him as the Panthers’ bell cow.
After Kenjon Barner left for the Falcons, the Panthers have just two other RBs under contract in Elijah Hood and Reggie Bonnafon.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/26/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Damiere Byrd
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed off waivers from Chiefs: T Dillon Gordon