The Carolina Panthers announced they have promoted TE Feleipe Franks from the practice squad to the active roster.
To make room, the Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews, 32, is a former second-round pick of the Eagles back in 2014. The Eagles traded Matthews and a 2018 third-round pick to the Bills in return for CB Ronald Darby in August of 2017.
Matthews played out the final year of his four-year, $4,949,269 contract before signing a one-year contract with Patriots worth up to $1.7 million. The Patriots released Matthews during the preseason with an injury settlement and he then returned to the Eagles.
From there, Matthews signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal with the 49ers in 2019. He returned to the Eagles for a brief period but ended up back with the 49ers.
San Francisco cut Matthews coming out of the preseason in 2020 but he immediately signed to their practice squad. He bounced on and off the team’s roster and practice squad for two seasons and was signed to a futures deal for the 2022 season before tearing his ACL.
Matthews caught on with the Panthers during the 2023 season on the practice squad and bounced on and off the unit before signing a futures deal for the 2024 season.
Over the past four years, Matthews has appeared in four games but hasn’t caught a pass in the regular season since 2019.
Franks, 26, was a one-year starter at Arkansas after spending three years at the University of Florida. He signed on with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2021.
Franks played quarterback before transitioning to tight end in 2022. Atlanta waived him in 2023 and he later caught on with the Panthers in 2024.
In 2022, Franks appeared in 11 games for the Falcons, had one pass attempt, and was targeted twice but did not record a reception.
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