HEADLINES

Chris Scott

Panthers To Re-Sign Chris Scott

February 13th, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers will bring back free agent offensive lineman Chris Scott, a league source tells Yahoo! Sports’ Rand Getlin (Twitter link). Scott started eight games at both left and right guard for the Panthers in 2013 but experienced a less-stable 2014 season.

Carolina cut Scott in August before re-signing him in October. This appears to be a depth move, as the 27-year-old Tennessee product was the Panthers’ third-string guard last season. Scott had been eligible for restricted free agency.

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) gave the former fifth-round pick a negative grade in 506 snaps in 2013, by far his most involved season. Scott played for the Bills and Steelers previously, but his only eight starts came in 2013 after he took over for an injured Amini Silatolu. Scott then sustained a knee injury that slowed him for the rest of that campaign. Scott made a prorated portion of $730K during his time on Carolina’s roster last season, with barely half that counting against the Panthers’ cap.

The Panthers are more than $11MM under the salary cap before this minor transaction, according to OverTheCap.com.

Panthers Release Charles Godfrey

October 21st, 2014 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

2:12pm: The Panthers have formally confirmed Godfrey’s release, signing offensive lineman Chris Scott of their practice squad to take his roster spot (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan).

2:10pm: The Panthers have informed agent Doug Hendrickson that they’re releasing veteran defensive back Charles Godfrey, Hendrickson announced today (via Twitter). The move will open up a spot on Carolina’s 53-man roster, though neither Godfrey’s release nor a corresponding signing has been announced so far.

Godfrey, 28, was sidelined for most of the 2013 season after tearing his Achilles early in the year. While the Panthers elected to keep him on the roster through the offseason and for the start of the 2014 campaign, the team reworked his contract significantly, reducing his base salary by more than $4MM and converting some of that money to per-game roster bonuses.

After starting all but one of his 73 games for Carolina during his first five years with the team, Godfrey began this season playing a lesser role, appearing in just 84 defensive snaps through four games. However, he was forced into more frequent action in recent weeks and struggled with the increased workload, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). PFF’s data gave Godfrey a -0.5 grade for his play through the first four weeks, and a -9.9 mark for the last three weeks.

Because Godfrey is a vested veteran, he won’t have to pass through waivers, so other teams are free to bring him in for a workout or offer him a contract immediately after the move becomes official.

Panthers Sign Robert Lester, Cut D.J. Smith

October 14th, 2014 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Panthers have made changes today to both their 53-man roster and their practice squad, the team announced in a press release. According to the club, safety Robert Lester has been promoted from the practice squad to the active roster, linebacker D.J. Smith has been waived from the roster, and guard Chris Scott has been signed to the taxi squad.

Lester, 26, appeared in 12 contests for the Panthers a year ago, starting four of those games. He played reasonably well when he saw the field, contributing three interceptions and recovering a fumble, but so far this season he had been relegated to the practice squad.

Scott, Lester’s replacement on the practice squad, is also a familiar face in Carolina, having started eight games for the club last season. He was cut in August this year when the Panthers trimmed their roster down to 53 players.

As Bryan Strickland of Panthers.com notes in the team’s press release, the Panthers have relied heavily on their nickel package lately, often playing five defensive backs and two linebackers. As such, adding Lester, who can also contribute on special teams, at the expensive of a linebacker makes some sense, regardless of Carolina’s injury situation.

Panthers Cut Eight Players

August 30th, 2014 at 1:28pm CST by Ben Levine

1:28pm: Carolina has cut second-year safety Robert Lester, according to Person (via Twitter).

1:25pm: According to The Charlotte Observer’s Joe Person (via Twitter), the Panthers have also cut rookie cornerback Carrington Byndom. Person notes that the team is hoping to bring him back on their practice squad.

10:18am: The Panthers have started the process of trimming down their roster, and among the notable cuts is guard Chris Scott (first reported by ProFootballTalk.com on Twitter). The former Steelers fifth-round pick finally caught on with Carolina in 2013, starting eight games.

The rest of the Panthers moves are below:

Minor Moves: Panthers, Rams, Heyer

April 23rd, 2014 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with any further Wednesday moves added to the top of the list throughout the evening:

  • Panthers offensive lineman Chris Scott has signed his exclusive rights free agent tender from the team that will keep him under contract for 2014, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Scott started eight games for Carolina last season and could be leaned upon more significantly this year with longtime tackle Jordan Gross having retired and guard Travelle Wharton no longer under contract.
  • Wilson also reports (via Twitter) that wide receiver Justin Veltung has accepted and signed his ERFA tender from the Rams. Veltung didn’t see much action for St. Louis last season, but did return seven punts for the club near the end of the year.
  • Former Redskins and Raiders offensive lineman Stephon Heyer has signed with the CFL’s British Columbia Lions, tweets Alex Marvez of FOX Sports 1.

Contract Tenders: Monday

March 10th, 2014 at 5:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys punter Chris Jones signed his exclusive rights tender of $645K, writes Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. The move locks down Dallas’ punter situation but eats up about $150K of the ~$2MM salary cap space the club had to work with. Jones averaged 45 yards per punt in his first full season with the Cowboys. The latest contract tenders from around the NFL..

  • Restricted free agent tackle Byron Bell has received a second-round tender worth $2.187MM from the Panthers, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The club also tendered exclusive rights free agent Chris Scott, tweets ESPN.com’s David Newton.
  • The Chargers have only two exclusive rights free agents in linebacker Bront Bird and guard Stephen Schilling and they won’t be tendering either one, tweets Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego.
  • Jets linebacker Nick Bellore got the low restricted free agent tender, a source tells ESPN’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). Bellore led Gang Green in special teams kickoff tackles last season.
  • The Ravens won’t extend an RFA tender to wide receiver Tandon Doss, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The team could still bring Doss back on a smaller deal though.
  • Lions wide receiver Kris Durham confirmed via Twitter that he inked his tender with the club. Durham, a fourth-round pick in 2011, became a more significant part of the Lions’ offense in 2013, racking up 38 receptions, 490 receiving yards, and a pair of touchdowns while starting 13 games. He didn’t perform well based on Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), which ranked him 109th out of 111 qualified receivers, but he’s still just 25 years old, and may not be relied upon for quite as large a role in 2014 if the team adds a receiver or two.
  • Joe Morgan and Jed Collins won’t receive RFA tenders from the Saints, but the club still has interest in re-signing the two free agents, says Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune.
  • The Rams won’t tender tight end Mike McNeill, who was eligible for restricted free agency, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Linebacker Justin Hickman has signed his ERFA tender from the Colts, according to Craig Kelley of Colts.com (via Twitter).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.