Panther sign former first-round pass rusher Charles Harris

Carolina adds another pass rusher to the rotation.

Schuyler Callihan | Sep 10, 2024

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Carolina Panthers

One area the Carolina Panthers have been trying to address for several months is edge rusher. With D.J. Wonnum on injured reserve, Ejiro Evero has rotated through a number of guys in the preseason and this past Sunday against the Saints but has yet to find an answer opposite of Jadeveon Clowney.

Early Tuesday morning, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported that the Panthers are signing former first-round draft pick Charles Harris to a one-year deal.

The #Panthers plan to sign veteran DE Charles Harris, per source.

Harris, the onetime #Dolphins first-round pick, has 16.5 career sacks. pic.twitter.com/kq4Xld56Ku
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 10, 2024

Harris spent the first three seasons of his career with the Miami Dolphins where he totaled 61 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He never developed into the elite edge rusher they had hoped for, so they traded him to the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 in exchange for a seventh-round pick. In just one season with the Falcons, he appeared in 13 games, making one start. He totaled 18 tackles, five QB hits, and three sacks but did not have his fifth-year option exercised.

In March of 2021, Harris inked a deal with the Detroit Lions and would go on to have the best year of his career finishing the season with 65 tackles, 16 QB hits, 10 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. In the following two seasons, he would slide into more of a reserve role and failed to make much of an impact.