CHARLOTTE, NC — The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday morning that they have released defensive end Charles Johnson.
The announcement came in a release that the Panthers sent out shortly around 9:30am Thursday morning.
General Manager Dave Gettleman said, “Charles was an impact player for the Carolina Panthers for a long time, both on and off the field. His statistics speak for themselves, and as a team captain he led the way you want your leaders to lead – by example. I wish him the best moving forward.”
Johnson started nine games in the 2015 season. He missed seven games due to a hamstring injury and was placed on the injured reserve/designated to return list.
Head Coach Ron Rivera said, “Charles has had a very good career as a Carolina Panther and I’ve enjoyed coaching him the past five seasons. Charles fought through adversity with his injury last season and set a great example for our locker room as a captain. I have a great deal of respect for Charles as a player and a person and thank him for all the contributions he has made to this team.”
Johnson had one sack in the 2015 regular season, and he started all three postseason games in which he recorded 3 sacks.
Charles Johnson joined the Panthers in 2007 after being drafted in the third round out of the University of Georgia. He played 118 regular season games for Carolina which is third-most among a defensive lineman in team history behind Mike Rucker’s 139 and Julius Peppers’ 122.
