Latest Panthers roster move boosts depth at one of their worst positions

Dan Morgan adds to the tight end room in an unusual and unexpected way.

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Panthers helmet rests on the bench against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan is examining every single option to improve his football team, and that includes thinking outside the box. Like, way outside the box.

On Monday morning, the Panthers announced that they had signed tight end Colin Granger. What's so special and unique about the move? Well, Granger spent the last five years playing college basketball, and oh, he has never played football...at any level.

Granger began his career at Ohio University, where he spent parts of two seasons, appearing in 25 games as a reserve. He transferred to Western Carolina, playing two years there, and saw a little more playing time but still averaged around 10 minutes per game. He rounded out his career this past season at Coastal Carolina, where he was much more involved, starting 11 of 31 games and averaging 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 57% from the floor and 50% from three.

It's been a long time since the Panthers squeezed much production out of the tight end room in the passing game. As a matter of fact, the organization hasn't really had much to offer there since Greg Olsen was released in 2020 and played his final season with the Seattle Seahawks.

It's very unlikely that Granger, of all possibilities, will be the answer to their problem, but crazy things happen in sports all the time. If he defies all odds and ends up being that guy at some point, he wouldn't be the first to take this unusual path. Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Martellus Bennett all spent time on the college hardwood and turned into highly productive NFL tight ends. Those guys, however, had more experience on the gridiron coming into the league.

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