Carolina Panthers are getting back a defensive starter

The Carolina Panthers received good news Friday when a star defender was removed from injured reserve.

Safety Myles Hartsfield has been cleared to return to practice. That will give Carolina 21 days from Friday to activate him and make him a part of the 53-man roster again. 

Hartsfield started at the nickel position in Carolina’s season opener against the New York Jets. He was in on 23 defensive snaps and recorded two tackles along with a pass deflection before he went down with a wrist injury. Unfortunately, the second-year safety required surgery to repair his injury. 

Hartsfield was undrafted in last year’s draft but was picked up shortly after by Carolina. He played his college ball for the Ole Miss Rebels, finishing his collegiate career with 167 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 17 passes broken up and three interceptions across 48 games. 

In his rookie season with the Carolina, Hartsfield spent the majority of his time helping out on special teams. He played on 60% of Carolina’s special team snaps. On defense, he saw action on just 13% of their snaps. Oddly enough in his rookie year, he also spent time at running back. During the 2020 preseason and training camp, he practiced at both safety and running back. During the season, he recorded two rushes for two yards. 

Other moves made by the Panthers

Earlier in the week, the Panthers made a few adjustments to the roster. They started the season on a three-game win streak. Now they find themselves trending in the opposite direction after losing three in a row. Their most recent loss came at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings in overtime, 34-28. With that in mind, Carolina has made a few changes to mix things up. 

The Panthers have signed punter Ryan Winslow to the main 53-man roster. Winslow is a 27-year-old punter from the University of Pittsburgh. This move comes after starting punter Joseph Charlton was placed on injured reserve the same day. Charlton was placed on IR with back issues and will be out for a minimum of three weeks.

Outside of that, they have placed wide receiver Brandon Zylstra on injured reserve this week. Zylstra went down with a hamstring injury in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Finally, the Panthers have brought back running back Reggie Bonnafon as a member of their practice squad. Fans of Carolina should be familiar with Bonnafon as he spent the last three years with the team. With star-running back Christian McCaffrey still on the mend, the Panthers needed somebody familiar with their offense.