CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Panthers continued to add to their practice squad Thursday by signing two more players, getting them to 15.
from Darin Gantt with CarolinaPanthers.com
The team added quarterback Hendon Hooker(Dudley HS) and wide receiver Ainias Smith, leaving two spots on the practice squad open.
Hooker, a former third-round pick of the Lions out of Tennessee, gives the Panthers a third quarterback behind Bryce Young and Andy Dalton, after they parted ways with Jack Plummer and Bryce Perkins in initial cuts.
“Hendon Hooker is a guy that I loved in the process coming out of Tennessee, I had some great meetings with him,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Wednesday. “He really impressed me as a man, and a really high character guy with a lot of talent. A beautiful motion, big strapping guy who can run. . . .
“I am very grateful that we get a player who’s had professional training for a while now with certain protections and run game alerts and a lot of the different things that the offense that Detroit was able to build that I really admire, and to be able to bring a guy in who’s had exposure. The talent and the character that I’m excited about, I’m glad he’s going to be here.”
Last year, 13 of the 16 players on the practice squad in Week 1 were active for at least one game with the team.