The Carolina Panthers announced on Monday that they will sign rookie running back Elijah Holyfield to their practice squad.
The 21-year-old Holyfield was signed as an undrafted free agent following last April's class by the Panthers. The 5-foot-11 running back spent his college days at the University of Georgia, where he rushed for over 1,000 yards during his junior season with the Bulldogs before declaring for the 2019 NFL Draft.
Holyfield, however, was among Carolina's cuts over the weekend as preseason ended and the regular season arrives over the horizon. Despite being among many released to trim the roster down to 53 players, the Panthers will bring Holyfield back via the practice squad. The backup team, in other words, has been installed by the league in recent years to provide teams with a safety net of available players due to injury or necessary time to develop younger, undrafted free agents—like Holyfield—without outright losing them.
In preseason with the Panthers, Holyfield rushed for 79 yards on 19 carries and scored one touchdown. Perhaps foreshadowing his eventual release, per USA Today Sports' Panthers Wire, Holyfield missed Carolina's third preseason game, the exhibition matchup with the New England Patriots on August 22nd.
While Holyfield may consider himself lucky for sticking around in the NFL vis a vis a practice squad spot, he has an uphill climb for snaps with the Panthers, save for an unforeseen injury. Carolina has a budding star in running back Christian McCaffrey—a dynamic rushing and pass-catcher in the backfield for quarterback Cam Newton to work with—and Jordan Scarlet and Reggie Bonnafon serve as the backups at the position.
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