Kyle Love Contract Details
- Kyle Love, DT (Panthers): One year, minimum salary benefit. $80K signing bonus (Twitter link).
Kevin Byard To Work Out For Panthers
- Middle Tennessee State defensive back Kevin Byard will work out for the Panthers on Tuesday, visit the Falcons on Wednesday, visit the Chiefs on Thursday, and visit the Packers on Friday, as Wilson tweets.
Panthers To Sign P Michael Palardy
- The Panthers have signed punter Michael Palardy, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
DT Vernon Butler Visiting Panthers
- Louisiana Tech defensive tackle Vernon Butler is set to visit the Titans today and the Panthers on Wednesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Those two teams hold the 33rd and 30th overall picks, respectively, so they may view Butler as a player who will be available at that point in the draft.
Panthers Re-Sign Kyle Love
The Panthers are bringing back Kyle Love, having signed the veteran defensive tackle to a one-year contract, the team announced today in a press release. We had heard last week that the two sides remained in touch, and it seems those conversations resulted in a new deal.
Love, 29, appeared in all but one game for the Panthers last season as a part of the club’s interior defensive line rotation. For the year, the Mississippi State alum recorded 19 tackles, three sacks, and a fumble recovery in the regular season, then added another sack in the playoffs.
After heading into the free agent period with no backups for defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short, Carolina has now signed Love and Paul Soliai to contracts, creating a little depth up front. However, as Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets, that veteran depth likely won’t prevent the Panthers from addressing the defensive line in the draft as well.
Financial terms on Love’s new deal aren’t yet known, but he had a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract in 2015 — another minimum salary deal, perhaps with a signing bonus this time around, would make some sense.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Panthers To Meet With German WR
The Browns are set to meet with Stanford QB Kevin Hogan, according to Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com (via Twitter). This is a potentially intriguing development, as Cleveland has been expected to take one of this year’s top quarterback prospects with the No. 2 overall pick despite having signed Robert Griffin III late last month. Hogan is considered more of a mid-round talent, but he certainly has his fans in the scouting community after setting a Stanford school record for victories (36). The Browns may just be doing their due diligence, but if they pass on a quarterback with the No. 2 overall selection with the intention of picking up a signal-caller like Hogan or Christian Hackenberg later in the draft, it could have major ramifications for the teams picking immediately behind Cleveland in the first round.
More of the latest draft-related news…
- German wide receiver Moritz Boehringer will host a private workout for teams Friday, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Boehringer, who could go as high as the fourth round, has already met with Minnesota officials. He also has visits scheduled with the Bears, Rams, Panthers, Chiefs and Broncos, per Andy Fenelon of NFL.com.
- The Bears look poised to draft a quarterback this year, writes John Mullin of CSNChicago.com, as the team dedicated a sizable amount of its interview time at the February combine to signal-callers. “It’s a good position in the draft,” general manager Ryan Pace said last month. “We’ve gotta be smart.” Other than entrenched starter Jay Cutler, the Bears’ in-house options under center include 2014 sixth-round pick David Fales and Matt Blanchard – who signed a reserve/futures contract in January.
- The Buccaneers invited Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee to their pro day, but the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder is only doing private workouts and top-30 visits, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Higbee hauled in 38 passes, averaged 14.8 yards per catch, and racked up eight touchdowns last season.
- Former Georgia Tech and Florida linebacker Anthony Harrell will attend the Buccaneers’ local workout on April 15, Auman reports (on Twitter).
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
Panthers Met With Roy Robertson-Harris
- Miami defensive lineman Ufomba Kamalu has picked up interest from the Chargers, Panthers, Eagles, Cardinals, and Broncos, according to Mike Kaye of First Coast News (via Twitter).
- UTEP defender Roy Robertson-Harris is drawing attention, having met with the 49ers and Panthers. He also has visits and/or workouts scheduled with the Raiders, Chiefs, Bears and Vikings.
Donte Deayon To Visit Panthers
- Thompson worked out for the Eagles on Monday and met with the Titans on Wednesday. He also has official visits set up with the Steelers and Panthers next week.
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Josh Norman Not Thrilled With Franchise Tag
As players like Olivier Vernon and Malik Jackson signed huge, long-term contracts earlier this month, players like Broncos pass rusher Von Miller and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman were forced to watch, unable to land lucrative new mega-deals of their own. As Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) details, Miller and Norman have been frustrated by the franchise tag system, which prevents star players from cashing in like some lesser free agents have.
In Norman’s case, fellow cornerback Janoris Jenkins got a five-year, $62.5MM as an unrestricted free agent, but according to David Newton of ESPN.com, the Panthers haven’t gone to that $12.5MM-per-year range in their extension talks with Norman. If the Carolina corner had been able to reach the open market himself, he likely would’ve surpassed easily, so it’s not a surprise that Miller and Norman would like to see the franchise tag system go away, according to Cole.
Panthers Draft Rumors: Bell, Shell, Boyd, Moore
- Ohio State safety Vonn Bell has (or has had) meetings, workouts and/or visits with the Jets, Patriots, Panthers, and Giants, Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports tweets.
- South Carolina offensive lineman Brandon Shell says he has individual workouts coming up with the Panthers, Ravens, and 49ers, David Caraviello of the Post And Courier tweets.
- Pitt wide receiver Tyler Boyd confirmed that he has had workouts with the Cowboys, Patriots, Chargers, and Rams (Twitter link via SiriusXM). He’ll also have formal visits with the Panthers and Cowboys next week.
- Cincinnati wide receiver Chris Moore has visits/workouts scheduled with the Buccaneers, Panthers, Texans, Eagles, and Bengals, Jenna Laine of Sports Talk 1040 tweets.