CHARLOTTE -- Rocked by injuries since the first day of training camp, the complexion of the Panthers' defensive-tackle corps changed once again Tuesday.
Carolina signed former Rams, Chiefs and Broncos defensive tackle Antwon Burton, tapping him to fill the vacancy created by
Leonard was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, ending his season just two days after he made his first start in a Panthers uniform and less than three weeks after he was acquired via trade from the Cleveland Browns. He fractured his ankle on the defense's final play Sunday, bringing an unfortunate end to a promising two weeks that saw him notch a sack against the Eagles and lead all Panthers defensive linemen in tackles with four at Atlanta.
Burton was most recently with the Rams, who waived him at the end of the preseason after bringing him aboard last Dec. 18 from Kansas City's practice squad. The 6-foot-2, 325-pound Temple product played in one game for the Chiefs last year and seven games for the Broncos over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, with a 2008 training-camp stint with the Bengals also on his résumé.
The addition of Burton is the third at defensive tackle in the past three weeks, following the trade for Leonard and the Sept. 7 waiver claim of Sunny Harris from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harris made his professional regular-season debut Sunday at Atlanta.
Leonard joins
Recently second-year tackle
BUT THE MOVES AT DEFENSIVE TACKLE represented merely half of the shuffle made by the Panthers on Tuesday; they also released practice-squad defensive tackle George Hypolite and waived safety Nate Salley from injured reserve. For Salley, the move brought an end to a four-year tenure with the club that began as a fourth-round selection in 2006.
Salley played in all 16 games last year as a reserve, working mostly on special teams, where he tallied eight tackles. But his time with the Panthers was unfortunately defined as much by injuries as time on the field; he missed the entire 2007 with a knee injury, then last month grappled with a knee injury throughout training camp before being placed on injured reserve near the end of the preseason.
Hypolite spent the last two weeks on Carolina's practice squad after being waived at the final preseason roster cutdown Sept. 6. His release leaves one vacancy on the Panthers' eight-man practice squad.
