Panthers sign LB Deion Jones, waive Bravvion Roy

The Carolina Panthers have signed veteran linebacker Deion Jones after working him out in Spartanburg this afternoon. They also waived third-year defensive tackle Bravvion Roy this morning. Roy’s waiver was followed by a quick signing of defensive lineman LaBryan Ray, so the team still needs to make a corresponding roster move to offset the Jones signing and keep their total roster count at 90 players.

Deion Jones

Jones is a former Atlanta Falcons standout who was traded from their injured reserve to the Cleveland Browns for minimal compensation last season. He was originally on IR in Atlanta coming off of an offseason shoulder injury, but recovered enough to appear in 11 games for the Browns.

Hopefully, the 28-year-old player can return his 2017 Pro Bowl form—or at least a shadow of it—as he provides depth behind Frankie Luvu and Shaq Thompson in the middle of the Panthers defense.

He’ll be sorting out his place in the depth chart beside 8-year veteran Kamu Grugier-Hill and Brandon Smith. This could spell the end of Smith’s career with the Carolina Panthers, but don’t expect that move until we get towards roster cuts.

Bravvion Roy

Roy was a 6th round draft pick out of Baylor by the previous coaching staff in 2020. He briefly, but infrequently, flashed potential to be a solid nose tackle in a 4-3 defense, but clearly did not find his footing as either a 3-4 nose or end in new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s scheme.