We’re counting down the days until the Panthers kick off the 2024 season.
We’re officially 75 days away from the Carolina Panthers kicking off the 2024 NFL season against the New Orleans Saints. It will be their second consecutive road opener. Now it’s time for our annual roster countdown to highlight the players on the Panthers’ roster. Since there is no No. 75 currently on the roster, we decided to highlight a player who has not been assigned a number yet — defensive tackle T.J. Smith.
The 6’3”, 300 lbs Georgia native switched his commitment from Vanderbilt to Arkansas late in the process. Starting his sophomore season, Smith played in every game for the Razorbacks the next three seasons. In his senior season (2019), he notched 20 total tackles, four for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. He entered the NFL Draft the following year, but went undrafted.
Smith was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers as a free agent after the 2020 draft, and he spent the entire 2020 season on their practice squad. After not being resigned by the Chargers, Smith was signed to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad halfway through the 2021 season. He spent the rest of that season and the next two seasons bouncing back and forth between the Vikings practice squad and their active roster. He only appeared in four games for the Vikes, securing 11 total tackles with one for a loss. In May of this year, Smith signed with the Panthers. While we shouldn’t get our hopes up about getting major impact play from Smith, who knows? Maybe a change of scenery and scheme can help him flourish.
What do you expect to see from T.J. Smith this year, Panthers fans? Scroll on down to the comments and share your thoughts with us!
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