Omar Gaither was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an URFA with obvious ties to Sean McDermott. He is a 6' 2" 256 lbs linebacker, was drafted in the 5th round by the  Philadelphia Eagles in 2006. In his first year he played mostly the WLB spot, but due to injuries from other players in 2007 he moved to MLB when he was a full time starter. Since then he was moved back to the weak-side linebacker position in a backup role. Was injured for most of the 2009 season and again played backup and special team for the Eagles in 2010. During training camp this week, when both Beason and Connor have been held out of practice, Omar has been filling the MLB role.

During 2007 as a full time starter at MLB, he was the team leader in tackles and QB pressures with 102 tackles and 14 pressures. He also had 8 passes defended, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble. In his other 51 games he totaled 187 tackles, 5 sacks, 10 passes defended, 1 additional interception, and 1 forced fumble.

Because Omar has been knocked for his lack of cover skills his role as a weak-side linebacker plays to his strength which primary responsibilities are to cover the cutback lane or the outlet pass to a running back. With our starting linebackers established and his knowledge of the new defensive scheme, he should prove to be a solid addition to our LB group.