Early Monday morning, the Carolina Panthers announced they were waiving Rashaan Gaulden following miscues and poor decisions on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
A few hours later, head coach Ron Rivera took to the podium and announced the team had signed a kicker to the practice squad and promoted an offensive lineman to the active roster.
Ron Rivera is at the podium https://t.co/ZxmLHHOsfp
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 25, 2019
Greg Joseph, the kicker signed, played one full season with the Cleveland Browns last season. He was 17-of-20 on field-goal attempts in 2018-19. Rivera said the team has to assess the kicking situation after starting kicker Graham Gano was placed on the injured reserve list in August, putting rookie Joey Slye in the starting position.
Slye only converted one point-after attempt and missed a go-ahead field goal in the last minute of Sunday’s game against the Saints and has a 73.1 percent field goal percentage with 55 yards his longest and an 84.6 percentage extra points so far in his rookie season.
Garrett McGhin, the offensive lineman promoted to the active roster, signed with Carolina’s practice squad on Nov. 12 after entering his rookie season with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. McGhin was signed to provide the Carolina offensive line with more depth, another area that was lacking in Sunday’s game, especially after Greg Van Roten was forced to leave early in the game with a toe injury.
As of late, Christian McCaffrey is practically carrying the offense on his own and needs assistance in getting the ball to the red zone.
The Panthers play the Washington Redskins on Sunday and time will tell if the roster changes are effective in helping Carolina get a much-needed win.
