Panthers Sign LB Josh Watson, Cut TE Ryan Izzo

The Carolina Panthers announced that they signed LB Josh Watson to a contract on Wednesday. 

Carolina also cut TE Ryan Izzo in a corresponding roster move, according to Aaron Wilson. 

#Panthers sign linebacker Josh Watsonhttps://t.co/mjoSzQ7Em9

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 17, 2022

Watson, 26, originally signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in 2019.  After missing the cut in the 2019 preseason, Watson signed on to Denver’s practice squad for the season, and was elevated to the active roster in November.

From there, Watson was on and off of the Broncos’ roster before brief stints with the Chargers and Panthers last year. The Texans later added him to their practice squad before re-signing him to a futures contract, but cut him loose back in March. 

In 2021, Watson appeared in two games for the Texans, but did not record a statistic. 

Izzo, 26, is a former seventh-round pick of the Patriots back in 2018. He was in the final year of his four-year, $2.5 million rookie contract when the Patriots traded him to the Texans in March of last year. 

Houston opted to waive Izzo coming out of the preseason. He quickly caught on with the Giants’ practice squad. He was also briefly a member of the Seahawks’ taxi squad before joining the Titans back in January. Tennessee elected to waive Izzo in June and re-signed him last week. 

In 2020, Izzo appeared in 12 games for the Patriots and caught 13 passes for 199 yards receiving and no touchdowns.