The Carolina Panthers rearranged their defensive line depth Monday, signing veteran defensive end Henry Anderson and releasing second-year defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon.
Anderson, 6-foot-6 and 301 pounds, contributed primarily as a run stopper for six seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets. He totaled 167 combined tackles and 44 quarterback hits over that span.
He then spent most of last season on the New England Patriots’ injured reserve list after tearing his pectoral muscle in Week 4. Unfortunately, that wasn’t his only recent battle with injury.
Late last month, Anderson was the recipient of a nasty hit from former Panthers safety Kenny Robinson Jr. during the teams’ joint practices. Robinson would later be waived during last Tuesday’s 53-man roster cutdown, brought back as practice squad member shortly after and subsequently released.
To make room for Anderson, the Panthers waived Nixon—who showed flashes of promise before sustaining a season-ending injury last season. Nixon, a former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, suffered a knee injury in practice last October, causing him to land on the IR. The former fifth-round draft pick should attract some interest from teams looking to bolster the interior of their defensive line.
