The Carolina Panthers have placed Dean Marlowe on season-ending IR with a hamstring injury and will now have to find another backup option at safety.
After dealing with a hamstring injury for much of training camp and preseason action, the Panthers have placed second-year safety Dean Marlowe on season ending injured reserve.
Aug 5, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers free safety Dean Marlowe (29) during FanFest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Marlowe made the 53-man roster after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He was active for four games and was expected to fill a backup safety role in 2016.
The move comes after Marlowe aggravated the hamstring during Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers. The former undrafted free agent was inactive for Week 1 and last week registered 16 total snaps – three on defense, 13 on special teams.
Currently, the Panthers have just three safety on their roster in starters Kurt Coleman and Tre Boston and lone backup Colin Jones. The team does have two more – Marcus Ball and Travell Dixon – on their practice squad that could hear their name called up to the active roster.
Jul 28, 2016; Spartanburg, SC, USA; Carolina Panthers safety Marcus Ball (36) catches a pass during the training camp at Wofford College. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Ball, a former Memphis Tiger, went undrafted in 2012. He then went to the Canadian Football League where he played two seasons from 2012 to 2013. In 2014, Ball was signed by the New Orleans Saints and played in 12 games and recorded 16 tackles.
Dixon went undrafted in 2015 out of Washington and participated in OTA’s with the Oakland Raiders before being cut. He was out of football for the entire season and was signed by Carolina in January.
While Ball and Dixon represent two in-house options to replace Marlowe, the Panthers also tried out a number of safeties in late August that could be brought in as well.
Veterans Donte Whitner and Major Wright were both worked out but left without a contract. Stevie Brown was actually signed before the final preseason matchup and played in that game before being part of the final roster cut down.
The Panthers have yet to make a roster move and are currently at 52 players.
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