Carolina Panthers: Tillman Might Come Back
The Carolina Panthers don’t currently have Charles Tillman on the roster, but the veteran corner says it’s the only place he would play next season.
There are several players that are not with the Carolina Panthers in camp this year that were cogs in last year’s puzzle. Josh Norman and the money found themselves in Washington Redskins camp. Roman Harper returned to the Saints. Charles Tillman is working a football camp in Louisiana. He is not currently on a NFL roster.
There is a good reason why no team has signed Tillman. He tore his ACL last season and was part of the solution and then the problem of secondary depth last year. He is still recovering from his injury, but the veteran cornerback is thirty-five years old and probably at the end of the string.
Tillman would not rule out a comeback though, but there is only one team that he would want to play for. According to reports from David Newton of ESPN.com, Tillman would only come back if he plays again for the Carolina Panthers. Tillman cited the Panthers organization and environment as the reason he would go there.
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This is not the first time that a Panther or former Panther has commented on how neat the environment was. Michael Oher and Charles Johnson made similar comments concerning why they signed new deals with the team.
Tillman is a little unusual in that the only other team experience he had was his years of service with the Chicago Bears. Perhaps Tillman has had a sense of other locker rooms as well given his lengthy playing career.
Tillman still has some months to go in his rehab. He would not be a training camp signing. There is some question whether the Panthers would bring him back at all. The team did draft three rookie cornerbacks in the draft. There is also the issue of how Tillman’s injury will behave when it is ready. Will he have lost a step?
If not, his veteran experience could be helpful for a secondary that is all kinds of young. Or perhaps the Panthers might sign him on an emergency basis like they did with Cortland Finnegan and Robert McClain last year. It is just too soon to tell.