L. Johnson activated, T. Williams to IR

[Nick_81]

Quote

CHARLOTTE – The Panthers have gained a cornerback and lost another.

Leonard Johnson was activated off the reserve/non-football injury list after Teddy Williamswas placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

According to head coach Ron Rivera, Williams felt something in his left knee prior to Thursday’s practice.

Johnson, a five-year veteran, has been waiting patiently for his opportunity as he worked his way back to full strength following Achilles surgery in March. He began practicing wihen he was first eligible to do so during the bye week.

"I think Leonard can bring a little energy to what we’re trying to do," Rivera said. "He’s a guy that excels at playing the nickel position. That’s why we brought him here.

"It was just a matter of time before we had a chance to see who he is on the football field. We as coaches like what we saw. We were willing to take the chance on having this guy around on (NFI), and hopefully he can develop, as he gets more and more opportunities in our scheme."

Johnson played in four games with three starts at nickel back for the Patriots in 2015. His career totals include 52 games played, 121 tackles, five interceptions and 23 passes defensed.

http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/Panthers-activate-Johnson-place-Williams-on-IR/3c0d24bb-2ec6-4894-bfbf-1d09b94d45b0

 

[therealmjl]

Good stuff here. 

[The_Rainmaker]

4 minutes ago, Nick_81 said:

 

Veteran presence will help but the offense is going have to control the tempo of the game. Every possession is going to be crucial!

[GoobyPls]

Teddy has been playing better than Worley and Sanchez 

[Nick_81]

1 minute ago, GoobyPls said:

Teddy has been playing better than Worley and Sanchez 

About everybody has played better than Sanchez, but Williams is about as much a liability as any of the rest of them, IMO.

[Jangler]

Face it, Shula is going to have to call a career making/breaking game.

[top dawg]

Superb owl!

[KSpan]

Hopefully the "next man up" philosophy won't apply to the void that Teddy's absence will leave in the ST penalty count.

[Jeremy Igo]

I'm hearing good things about Johnson. May surprise some folks.

[CatMan72]

At least we won't to worry about Williams screwing up any more special teams plays for the rest of the season... 

[panthers55]

I hope Johnson has kept his speed. Most everyone who recovers from Achilles surgery takes at least a year or more to recover and most never recover their speed.  Look at Beason for example. Then again how good or fast do you have to be in order to be better than who we have out there now? As much as it pains me I would be happy to see Harper back at this point.

[Bartin]

8 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

I'm hearing good things about Johnson. May surprise some folks.

Good to hear. I'm always skeptical about guys coming off achilles injuries so I have low expectations and we could use a positive surprise.

[TheRed]

Rivera's infatuation with Teddy Williams is starting to remind me of the Sione Fua saga.

[Wundrbread33]

This is the most obvious "make up an injury and move a guy to IR" that I have witnessed.

 

Does anyone investigate this stuff?