CHARLOTTE -- After 14 seasons, 165 games, 479 tackles and thousands of collisions, Hollis Thomas knows that at some point in the foreseeable future, it will be time for him to shuffle off the NFL stage.
But after the St. Louis Rams released him this week, he knew that time had not arrived.
"The day that I don't feel like getting up and lifting weights and chasing the ball and dissecting different teams' run offense, then that's when I'll walk away from the game and take one of you guys' jobs," he told a handful of reporters Thursday afternoon after signing with the Panthers.
To make room for Thomas, the Panthers waived defensive tackle Sunny Harris, who joined the team as a waiver claim from Pittsburgh on Sept. 6, one day after the 53-man roster deadline.
With the scrawl of his signature and a jog onto the practice field, Thomas opted to extend his career after being cast aside by the Rams, who at 0-3 -- and 5-30 since 2007 -- are understandably in the throes of a youth movement.
"I knew the head coach, Spags (Steve Spagnuolo), from when I was in Philadelphia, and he said he needed to get some young guys playing and see what they had, so I understood," Thomas said. "He said he wished I could have a three-week vacation and come back, but that's not the nature of the business. My agent called Carolina and the rest is history, one day old."
The Panthers knew well of Thomas' exploits, having faced him as a division rival during three seasons (2006-08) with the New Orleans Saints. Head coach John Fox also conferred with Thomas when he was a free agent on the open market.
"I actually met with him last year in my office for quite some time," Fox said. "He is a guy we are familiar with, and we need some veteran help there."
Thomas said he was playing out of position in St. Louis, handling three-technique tackle duties. With 340 pounds and 14 seasons of wear on his frame, he's better suited for nose tackle.
"I got to go through training camp with St. Louis and see if I could still play a three-technique, and I really can't," Thomas admitted. "So it was good to come back and play some nose guard.
"In St. Louis, I only got a few reps here and there because those other guys were quicker than me. Sometimes that's the way it goes. They had me in pretty much for short yardage and goal line. To have me in for more snaps -- especially just playing what I know, the nose -- it could be a benefit for all of us."
It quickly became evident Thomas would help in two ways. One is experience; he's played more NFL games than the combined total of the Panthers' other three defensive tackles:
"Right now we?re young there, and he?ll help us in that department," head coach John Fox said. "He?s played the game at this level for some time. A lot of this is how to play, and we think he?ll help us immensely in that area."
The other is good humor, which Thomas brandished in a brief question-and-answer session when asked what he would bring to the Panthers.
"A little levity, a little thickness in the middle," he replied. "Everybody wants to be focusing on the other fat guys; they'll focus on the new fat guy. It's like the first day of school: you don't want to wear the wrong outfit because you'll be the object of ridicule for the rest of the year."
There is, however, a serious reason why he would rather attack his job with a smile than a groan.
"I like to have fun when I'm playing this game because if you're not having fun, you're pretty much wasting your time, and normally when you're not having fun, you're losing," he said. "It's one of those things where if you're not having fun, there's no reason to be out there. Even when you get paid for it -- that's another reason to be out there -- but sometimes getting paid is not everything. If you're not having fun, there's no reason to be out there playing."
