North Carolina A&T alumnus and former Chicago Bear standout Tarik Cohen is on his way back to Carolina to join the Panthers and he is super excited for the full circle moment.

“It was a long conversation so I had to stay calm for the conversation but as soon as I got off the phone, I lost my mind,” Cohen said in a video posted to Twitter by Panthers beat writer Sheena Quick, retelling his conversation with Panthers management that resulted in him signing with the team's practice squad.

Quick then asked about how it feels for Tarik Cohen to get this second opportunity to come back to the NFL with his family close to him as a North Carolina native.

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“It's really the main reason why I wanted to stay here so close in North Carolina was because of my family. I feel like without my family, I don't know if I would've made it through these two years. And I feel like going forward…even though before I did it for my family, they helped me get through my rough moments.”

After a great start to his NFL career with the Chicago Bears, Cohen tore his ACL and MCL and suffered a tibial plateau fracture in a week 3 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in the 2020 season. He missed the rest of that season and the entire 2021 season before being released by the Bears in March 2022. As he was preparing a comeback, he tore his Achilles tendon during a training session. The injury required him to sit out another year to rehab.

Now, Cohen looks to make a triumphant comeback to the league in a state where he made his talents known.