Getty Image / Justin Casterline
It has been a rough year for the Carolina Panthers.
They have been below .500 every week this season.
They fired their head coach. They traded their best player. They cut Baker Mayfield after trading for him to be their starting quarterback during the offseason and once again turned to Sam Darnold as their starter.
This week they fell victim to yet another unfortunate occurrence.
Earlier this week, the Panthers claimed corner back Justin Layne off of waivers after he had been waived by the Chicago Bears.
There was just one problem with their new acquisition. He never showed up to play for the Panthers.
Today, they added him to the reserve/did not report list, dropping their active roster to 51 players.
Panthers cornerback Justin Layne off waivers from the Bears this week, except he never reported.
So the Panthers placed him on the reserve/did not report list Friday.
Roster at 51.— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 23, 2022
The Panthers would have been Layne’s 4th team this season.
He spent the first 3 seasons of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers after they drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft. His time with the team came to an end in August when they released him before the start of the season.
The New York Giants then claimed him off waivers and used him on special teams until they released him after Week 10.
Then the Bears claimed him for his special teams play, but only ended up having him play 2 games.
It’s not clear why exactly Layne opted not to show up to join the Panthers after he was claimed.
It shouldn’t be something that makes much of an impact on them with Layne likely just being brought in to play special teams. The Carolina Panthers will just have to hope a special teams gaffe doesn’t stop them from sneaking their way into the playoffs.