The Carolina Panthers replenished their running back room on Wednesday.
As officially announced this afternoon, the team has signed undrafted rookie rusher Dillon Johnson. The six-foot, 217-pounder cracked into the league this past spring with the Tennessee Titans, who waived him on July 25.
A Greenville, Miss. native, Johnson split his four college campaigns between Mississippi State University (2020 to 2022) and the University of Washington (2023). He totaled 2,393 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns on 462 attempts.
Johnson’s signing comes a day after the departure of Rashaad Penny, who was placed on the reserve/retired list. Head coach Dave Canales spoke about Penny’s decision after practice on Tuesday.
“It was a really cool opportunity for me to see, I know Rashaad at his best, to see if we could get him to that kind of look,” Canales told reporters. “He came up and he just really, he just felt like he wasn’t himself and I had to respect that going forward.
“I don’t understand what that’s like to have a feel, to have a vision and wanting your body to do exactly what you tell it to do and not responding the right way. For sure, I was glad to be a part of this process with him just ’cause I’ve known him for so long. And I wish Rashaad the best.”
To make room for Johnson, the Panthers waived/injured wide receiver Daewood Davis—who was carted away from Monday’s outing due to a thigh injury.