Carolina Panthers add Hard Knocks star and former Baylor player to their practice squad
The Panthers have signed Hard Knocks star Clay Johnston to the team’s practice squad.
Johnston spent the offseason with the Rams after Los Angeles drafted the linebacker in the seventh-round out of Baylor. The Rams waived him during the process of reducing the team’s roster to the required 53.
After redshirting his freshman year at Baylor, Johnston played for four years at Baylor, including three under Panthers head coach Matt Rhule and his staff, many of whom have joined him in Carolina. He started at the MIKE position and finished his college career with 237 tackles. Johnston was named to the 2019 All-Big 12 Second Team and was one of the players awarded a single-digit jersey in 2019, an honor given to players by their teammates.
Johnston suffered a torn ACL in October and has been working his way back from the injury. His father, Kent Johnston, is the Panthers’ director of player wellness. Kent was previously a strength and conditioning coach in the NFL and served as a injury return specialist with Baylor sports medicine.
The younger Johnston was heavily featured on this season of Hard Knocks that features the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. He was one of the players often depicted as trying to earn his spot on the roster. In the show’s season finale, the Rams’ staff was seen discussing that there was a possibility the Panthers would be interested in him as the “Baylor staff is now at Carolina.”
The Rams ultimately released him, but expressed interest in re-signing him to their practice squad, but noting that his former college coach, Rhule may sign him. Ultimately Johnston told the team he was signing to the Carolina practice squad, and the show filmed him in a Panthers’ mask and getting his COVID test done outside of Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers now have three Baylor players on the roster — Johnston, sixth-round pick DT Bravvion Roy and OL Sam Tecklenburg, who was also signed to the practice squad.
Practice squads are a bit different this year. A few changes:
▪ Veterans can now be placed on the practice squad. Six of the spots come with no restrictions in terms of career games played or years of pension credit.
▪ NFL teams will have an option to add two players from the practice squad to their game day roster, going from 53 players to 55. Teams can also increase their number of active players for the game from 46 to 48 (eight offensive lineman must be active). There are restrictions to the amount each player can be used in this way, but it will allow for a lot more experience in regular season games.
▪ Every week during the regular season, each team will be able to designate four players on their practice squad that other teams can’t sign. The rest are eligible to be signed for a team’s active roster.
The Panthers have a complete 16-player practice squad: RB Reggie Bonnafon, P/K Kaare Vedvik, OL Mike Horton, OL Sam Tecklenburg, T Matt Kaskey, WR Ishmael Hyman, WR Marken Michel, DT Bruce Hector, DT Myles Adams, DT Woodrow Hamilton, DE Austin Larkin, LB Chris Orr, LB Clay Johnston, TE Giovanni Ricci, S Natrell Jamerson and S Kenny Robinson.
The four protected players for Week 1 are Bonnafon, Jamerson, Kaskey and Vedvik.
Roster update
Defensive back Derrek Thomas has been moved off the league’s reserve/COVID list, which is for players who have either test positive for COVID-19 or who were in close contact with someone who tested positive. He was placed there last Sunday after previously being put on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury. The Panthers have waived him with an injury settlement.
Offensive lineman Chris Reed is now the only Panther on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He was put on the list last Tuesday.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Carolina Panthers add Hard Knocks star and former Baylor player to their practice squad."
