Now we know what the Carolina Panthers are classifying the newly-acquired Velus Jones Jr. as.
On Tuesday, the team signed Jones Jr. from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad to their active roster. The former third-round pick of the Chicago Bears entered the league as a wide receiver, but has been working from the running back position since the start of the 2024 season.
But where are the Panthers looking to play him?
Well, Jones Jr. has officially been listed as a running back by Carolina.
So, head coach Dave Canales was asked about working through the positional transition for the speedy weapon.
“Yeah, it’s a challenge,” Canales replied. “And I think it’s an opportunity to have a really talented athlete—six-feet, 200 [pounds], can run like crazy, he’s got some return value, all those things.
“But there’s a lot that goes into the running back position. You gotta respect the amount of pass protection things that go into it, coming over from receiver to running back. So that’s one of the biggest challenges.
“And then you don’t just hand the ball off and run these runs. There’s a way to run it. And fortunately, he’s got Chuba [Hubbard] to look at, and he’s got Mike Boone to look at, Raheem [Blackshear], who’s day-to-day—these guys have had familiarity. But, we’ll have to bring him on and see if he can help us in some way, shape or form.”
The Panthers placed rookie running back Jonathon Brooks, who re-tore the ACL in his right knee, on injured reserve yesterday. They’re also currently dealing with a chest injury to Raheem Blackshear, one of five non-participants from today’s practice session.
As of this week, it seems the Panthers plan on calling up the veteran Boone from the practice squad to back up their lead rusher in Hubbard.
