Panthers Work Out Caleb Sturgis, Chandler Catanzaro, Others
Graham Gano has been the Panthers’ kicker since 2012, and he’s made 13 of 15 field goal attempts this season. But he’s run into trouble recently, and those issues have overlapped with Carolina’s three-game losing streak.
The Panthers are exploring other options. They brought in kickers Chandler Catanzaro, Caleb Sturgis, Sam Ficken and Matt McCrane for workouts Tuesday, Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan tweets.
Gano missed a go-ahead 52-yard field goal in Carolina’s loss to Seattle on Sunday and missed an extra point, one of the three he’s misfired on this season, in a one-point loss in Detroit in Week 11. For the season, the 31-year-old specialist is 28-for-31 on PATs. He missed three extra points in each of the past three seasons.
Sturgis and Catanzaro saw the Chargers and Buccaneers, respectively, replace them midway through this season. Ficken served as Greg Zuerlein‘s injury replacement, but the Rams cut him prior to Zuerlein recovering; Ficken missed 2 of 3 field goal tries. McCrane went to camp with the Cardinals and received a four-game opportunity with the Raiders. Said opportunity included four missed field goals.
Carolina and Gano agreed to terms on a four-year contract in March. It would cost the Panthers more than $5MM in dead money to cut Gano now. At $4.25MM AAV, Gano is the second-highest-paid kicker in the game.
Panthers To Place Damiere Byrd On IR
Panthers wide receiver/punt returner Damiere Byrd suffered a broken arm in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). With only five weeks to go in the regular season, the Panthers will place Byrd on injured reserve. 
Byrd, 25, has just one catch to date, but he been a special teams contributor with eleven punt returns for 104 yards on the year. Without him, the Panthers may look to sign another wide receiver, though they have five others already on the roster. Rookie D.J. Moore can also step in to handle punts, so they don’t necessarily have to add a returner.
Byrd isn’t a superstar in Carolina, but the Panthers can ill afford any setbacks as they make their playoff push. The NFC South title is pretty much out of the question and they’ll have to fight their way through a crowded Wild Card picture to make the postseason. Thanks to a three-game losing streak, the 8-4 squad has just a 31% chance of making the postseason, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Funchess Free Agent Situation
- Panthers receiver Devin Funchess is set to be a free agent after this season, and it’s up in the air about what type of contract he might land. Former NFL agent and current CBS Sports Analyst Joel Corry thinks Funchess will get somewhere between what Marqise Lee and Stefon Diggs got on the open market, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. Corry thinks Funchess is a “1.5” type of receiver, better than a number two receiver, but not quite good enough to be a top option. Funchess’ free agency will be one of the most interesting in a pretty weak free agent class.
This Date In NFL Transactions History: Frank Alexander
On this day in 2015, Panthers defensive end Frank Alexander earned his third and final suspension from the NFL. Now, this shouldn’t be confused for a good thing. Rather, the punishment ultimately spelled the end of the player’s NFL career.
The Panthers used a fourth-round selection (No. 104) on the Oklahoma product during the 2012 draft, and it looked the organization may have found a diamond in the rough. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound lineman looked productive during his rookie campaign, compiling a modest 18 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended in 16 games (three starts). While his counting stats took a step back in 2013, Alexander was just as productive on the field. He finished his sophomore season with 15 tackles, one sack, and two passes defended.
While Alexander was still backing up Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson heading into the 2014 season, he was expected to take on a bigger role on the defensive line. However, during the 2014 offseason, he was handed a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He was slapped with another 10-game suspension before the aforementioned suspension ended, and he ended up appearing in a single game during the 2014 season. Presumably no one would have guessed that that’d end up being his final NFL regular season appearance.
Alexander tore his Achilles during the 2015 preseason, and after being waived/injured by the Panthers, he landed on the team’s injured reserve. Then, three years ago today, the defensive end was slapped with a one-year suspension for his third marijuana violation. He was actually one of three Panthers players to be handed a suspension in a two-game span, as defensive end Wes Horton and wide receiver Stephen Hill were punished the day before.
The Panthers didn’t necessarily miss Alexander during that season, as they ended up reaching the Super Bowl. As for Alexander, he was unable to garner much interest from NFL teams, and he ended up catching on with the BC Lions of Canadian Football League. The 28-year-old still hasn’t appeared in a game with his new organization, and it appears that his professional football career has likely come to an end.
Dontari Poe Earns Weight Bonus
- Panthers defensive tackle Dontari Poe collected a $125K bonus today by weighing in at less than 330 pounds, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Poe inked a three-year, $28MM contract with Carolina this offseason, and the deal provides the opportunity for the interior defender to collect up to $500K per season via weight bonuses. The former Chief and Falcon is playing far fewer snaps in 2018 than he has in years prior — whereas he typically played in 75%+ of his team’s snaps from 2012-16, he’s now sitting at the 50% mark with Carolina.
Panthers Claim RB Kenjon Barner
The Panthers claimed former Patriot Kenjon Barner off waivers, according to a team announcement. To make room, the club waived cornerback Josh Hawkins.
This marks Barner’s third career stint with the Panthers. He’ll provide depth behind star running back Christian McCaffrey, filling a spot vacated by the recent release of veteran C.J. Anderson.
Barner came into the league as a sixth-round pick of the Panthers in 2013 and played eight games for them as a rookie. The Panthers traded him to the Eagles in 2014, but he circled back to Carolina in the offseason. When he failed to make the Panthers’ first cut, Barner hooked on with the Patriots where he cycled through the roster for a couple of months.
Barner, 28, has 19 carries for 71 yards on the season. His best offensive seasons came in 2015 and 2016 with the Eagles when he averaged 4.6 yards per carry in a limited sample of 55 total attempts.
Barner figures to serve as the fourth running back on the depth chart behind CMC, Cameron Artis-Payne, and Travaris Cadet.
NFL Workout Updates: 11/12/18
Here are today’s tryouts:
Buffalo Bills:
- CBs Ashton Lampkin, Denzel Rice
Carolina Panthers:
Cleveland Browns:
- T Chris Durant; DB John Franklin III, CB Josh Thornton
Green Bay Packers:
- WRs K.J. Brent, DeAndrew White
Houston Texans:
- WR Hunter Sharp
Indianapolis Colts:
- G David Bright; LB Kennan Gilchrist; S Terrell Williams
New York Jets:
Panthers Sign RB Travaris Cadet
After waiving C.J. Anderson earlier today, the Panthers decided to add some backfield help by signing veteran Travaris Cadet, a source told Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). 
Christian McCaffrey has completely monopolized the backfield touches for the Panthers, so there wasn’t much of a need for Anderson anymore. The moves today signal that the team has complete confidence in McCaffrey, and will continue feeding him a large volume of touches. Anderson had reportedly been expecting a larger role, so the team released him when he wasn’t getting much playing time. There will be no such expectation from Cadet, and he should slide in immediately as the number two.
Cameron Artis-Payne was the only running back left behind McCaffrey after the waiving of Anderson, so it makes sense why they’d be looking for help. Cadet spent the first five seasons of his career with the Saints, before latching on with the Bills in 2017. The Bills released him at final cuts this year, and he recently worked out for the Raiders.
Cadet is more of a passing-downs back than a between the tackles runner, and he had a couple of productive seasons catching the ball in New Orleans. In 2016 he caught 40 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns, and also contributes on special teams.
Panthers Waive RB C.J. Anderson
The Panthers waived running back C.J. Anderson, according to a team announcement. Anderson was signed in May, but he was used far less than anticipated this season. 
“When we signed C.J. in the spring he saw a bigger role than he has had, and honestly, at the time so did we,” general manager Marty Hurney said in a statement. “But Christian McCaffrey has taken so much of the offense and so much of the plays, we just made the decision that this was the best thing for all parties involved.”
Anderson, 27, was a surprise cut by the Broncos after he ran for more than 1,000 yards in 2017. The 27-year-old wanted to reassert himself in Carolina, but he wound up with just 24 carries in nine games. On the plus side, he was efficient in that limited sample as he averaged 4.3 yards per tote.
Anderson is a vested veteran, but he’ll be subject to waivers now that the trade deadline has passed. With a reasonable $1.75MM cap figure on an expiring deal, it stands to reason that several teams will consider placing a claim on him. If not, he won’t last long as a free agent.
Panthers, Mario Addison Adjust Contract
The Panthers have converted $2.5MM of defensive end Mario Addison‘s base salary into a signing bonus, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will create $2MM in extra cap space for this season, giving the Panthers some wiggle room for the current year. 
[RELATED: Greg Olsen Likely To Have Surgery In Offseason]
Before the adjustment, the Panthers had just $1.942MM in cap space this year. Only five teams in the NFL had less cash to work with than Carolina. Now, the Panthers have flexibility to add any impact veterans that may pop up on the open market between now and the end of the year.
Addison passed on free agency in 2017 to re-sign with the Panthers on a three-year, $22.5MM deal. He’ll be back next season with a cap number of $9.916MM.
Through eight games, Addison already has 7.5 sacks and 21 total tackles. The 31-year-old is tied for ninth league-wide in sacks and is on pace to top the career high of 11.0 sacks he set last season.