The Panthers have placed WR Wallace Wright on the Injured Reserve List with a shoulder injury.  This might hurt the Panthers on special teams which is an area that Wright excels in.  He has played in 66 games in his NFL career and he has 66 tackles, mostly on special teams.  He also has caught 8 passes for 108 yards (13.5 avg) and he has returned 2 kickoffs for 31 yards (15.5 avg) in his NFL career to date.  This isn’t a big loss but the Panthers wish they would have had him in 2010.

The Panthers have signed 23-year old linebacker Nic Harris to a 1-year deal.  Harris played in 15 games for the Bills last season (his rookie year) and he made 30 tackles.  Look for Harris to provide depth and linebacker and probably an ace on special teams.  I like this signing for the Panthers as Harris is still young and he has a nice upside.

The Panthers have claimed 25-year old OG Andrew Crummey off waivers from the Jaguars.  Crummey is a big guy at 6′5″, 301 but he doesn’t have much playing experience.  Crummey last played in the NFL in 2008 (which was his only NFL action) with the Bengals playing in six games but starting none of them.  He will be little more than a backup if he makes the team as the Panthers have a pretty strong O-Line heading into 2010.

The Panthers have signed 25-year old running backs Dantrelle Savage.  Savage played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs last season in which he carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards (4.5 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 51 yards (7.3 avg).  He also helped out on special teams returning 6 punts for 36 yards (6.0 avg) and 8 kickoffs for 160 yards (20.0 avg).  Savage has now played in 13 games (0 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 25 times for 98 yards (3.9 ypc).  He also has caught 9 passes for 51 yards (5.7 avg) in his NFL career.  Savage has also returned 14 punts for 53 yards (3.8 avg) and 34 kickoffs for 793 yards (23.3 avg) in his NFL career.  This was a good depth signing for the Panthers as Savage can back up at RB while helping out on special teams.

37-year old WR Mushin Muhammad has decided to hang up his cleats and call it a career.  Muhammad played in 14 games (13 starts) last season for the Panthers and he caught 53 passes for 581 yards (11.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He finished his 11 years with the Panthers playing in 155 games (141 starts) in which he caught 696 passes for 9,255 yards (13.3 avg) with 50 TD grabs.  Muhammad retires as the Panthers’ all time leader in receptions (696) and receiving yardage (9,255).  He is also tied with Steve Smith for the all time lead in TD receptions with 50 but he’ll likely be #2 on the list early in 2010.  Muhammad will be missed as he was one of the best players in Panthers’ history.