The Carolina Panthers extended Kurt Coleman and brought in former basketball and Australian rules player Eric Wallace.
The Carolina Panthers have signed a couple of players over the last week. One appears to be a project while the other prevents a potential free agent loss next off season.
The Panthers signed former Australian rules player and Carolina native Eric Wallace to be a tight end type player. They also re-signed safety Kurt Coleman to a contract extension that will keep Coleman on the roster for the near future.
Wallace is a former college basketball player turned Australian rules football player because he is 6’6” and two hundred sixty pounds. He can also run the forty yard dash in 4.6. Ideally the Panthers could turn him into an H-back, but just adapting him to the American football game would be nice for now.
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The Panthers do not mark the first roster that Wallace attempted to join. That would have been the rival New Orleans Saints. Their interest would have made sense since Jimmy Graham was basically a basketball player turned tight end.
Wallace managed to get a tryout with the Panthers after it didn’t work out with the Saints. It must have worked too since he got a contract. The Panthers also have some practice with converting people into tight ends since they did something similar with Brandon Williams.
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As interesting a player as Wallace might become, the Coleman signing obviously is the more important one right now. Coleman was brought in last year to strengthen the special teams unit only for him to take over the starting safety job and get seven interceptions.
The secondary could use some of the stability that he brings. This is particularly true as Bene Benwikere is not yet back from his injury.
Coleman’s two year ‘prove-it’ deal was due to end at the end of the season, and the Panthers went ahead gave him a three year extension now. That makes one less headache to think of if the Kawann Short negotiations stretch out.