Former Coastal Carolina standout Childers signed by Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers signed five of the 35 tryout players who participated in their rookie minicamp to contracts, including a former Coastal Carolina quarterback-turned-tight end.
The Panthers announced Monday they’ve added defensive end Rakim Cox, offensive linemen Ronald Patrick and Jordan McCray, former Stanford fullback Lee Ward and ex-Coastal Carolina tight end Jamie Childers to their roster.
The team waived ex-Florida defensive tackle Darious Cummings, an undrafted free agent from Florida who left two minicamp practices early due to an unspecified illness.
The moves put the Panthers at the NFL limit of 90 players.
Childers, 26, was an accomplished high school quarterback in the Charleston area before signing with Coastal Carolina, the FCS school where Panthers cornerback Josh Norman played.
Childers started three games at quarterback – including a loss at Clemson – before switching positions.
Childers, 6-4 and 250 pounds, has spent time with three other teams since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with St. Louis in 2012. He has yet to play in a regular-season game.
Cox, 6-4 and 268 pounds, participated in the inaugural veteran combine in March after playing with a couple of teams last season. He had nine sacks as a senior at Villanova before signing with Minnesota as an undrafted free agent last year.
Kuechly wins Butkus Award
Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly recently became a two-time winner of the Butkus Award, which honors the top linebacker in high school, college and the NFL each year.
Kuechly, a two-time Pro Bowler and the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, became the fourth player to win the award at two levels.
Kuechly, the Butkus winner in 2011 following his junior season at Boston College, joins Von Miller, Patrick Willis and Manti Te'o (high school and college) as players who have won it on two tiers. DeMarcus Ware has won the NFL award twice.
Butkus, the former Chicago Bears great, likes to surprise the recipient with the award in person. He brought Kuechly to Chicago during the NFL draft weekend under the guise of having Kuechly help with Butkus' charitable work, then presented the award to Kuechly during a live TV broadcast on a regional cable channel.
Butkus showed up at the Boston College banquet four years ago to give Kuechly the award when he won it the first time.
Kuechly led the NFL in tackles for the second time in three seasons with 153 stops in 2014. He added a career-high 12 pass breakups, with one interception.
This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Former Coastal Carolina standout Childers signed by Carolina Panthers."