For Tyrel Dodson, the chance to reconnect with Dan Morgan was all he needed to hear

The new linebacker was signed as an undrafted rookie by the Bills, when Morgan was in the Buffalo front office. So deciding to come here on the practice squad for a week, and take this promotion rather than other offers, was natural for him.

Sep 17, 2026 at 06:04 PM

Darin Gantt

CHARLOTTE — There were chances to leave. A few of them actually.

But Panthers linebacker Tyrel Dodson decided to stay here for one very specific, and one very tangible reason.

He was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad earlier this week, since other teams were trying to sign him to theirs. And to him, it wasn't a complicated process.

"It wasn't really a process for me; my agent called me and said that I had a couple of teams looking to sign me," Dodson said. "Otherwise, I made it sure to him that I wanted to stay here, and because Dan Morgan is a mentor of mine and very good brother of mine.

"So I wanted to be here and help him out as much as I can. So that's what I stayed to do."

Dan Morgan
Buffalo Bills 2018 Organized Team Activity.
Photo by Bill Wippert.
June 4, 2018.

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Morgan, the Panthers' general manager, met Dodson at a critical juncture of his career.

He was with the Bills' personnel department when Dodson was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

"He told me he basically was the reason why I was in Buffalo; he believed in me," Dodson said. "I think I got the biggest undrafted signing bonus ever or something, so that's just how much he believed in me at the time.

"And I'm glad he believed in me. Seven years going into Year 8, we're here reuniting and get to help him get better on the defensive side of the ball and also special teams and help him further this organization, where he's been doing a good job."

Buffalo Bills linebacker Tyrel Dodson (25) runs out for introductions before an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Of course, Morgan had selfish reasons for this too, as he's been working to make the position group better and deeper since he got here.

And after signing Devin Lloyd on the first day of free agency, and veteran starter Bobby Okereke just before the start of the regular season, adding Dodson to the practice squad made perfect sense.

After his first four years in Buffalo, Dodson had stints in Seattle and Miami, and stacked up 43 starts in 92 career games, amassing 379 tackles, 11.5 sacks, four interceptions, and three forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.

That's the kind of experience the Panthers haven't had in reserve (or even in the starting lineup) in recent years, so being able to have a player with that kind of familiarity is a luxury.

"Bringing a guy like Tyrel in, that's a veteran guy that we could elevate at some point," Morgan said after the cut deadline. "When I was in Buffalo, we signed Tyrel as a UDFA. So me and him had a really close relationship, and just selling him on the idea of coming and being on our practice squad, he was all for it.

"I know he had other opportunities, and I think my and his relationship definitely helped out, and he's excited to be here. He wants to help be a leader, and he wants to play too."

But for Dodson, that made his decision to come here as a practice squader for a week, and his decision to stay, an easy one.

He said when he was a rookie in Buffalo, he started studying the guy who advocated for him, and he came to a realization that a lot of Panthers fans from back in the day were well-familiar with.

"Oh, I knew him; he was a badass," Dodson said of Morgan, whom the Panthers drafted in the first round of the 2001 draft out of Miami. "I think people don't realize it. I think more people need to wake up and open their eyes on who Dan Morgan really was. I mean, he was him.

"He was like Luke Kuechly before Luke Kuechly, right?"

Morgan never hit quite that level, going to one Pro Bowl as a player, though injuries likely prevented more. He set the record for tackles in a Super Bowl with 18 during Super Bowl XXXVIII, but he only played 59 games in seven seasons.

But between the Panthers' career and his University of Miami background, there was enough tape for any linebacker to realize Morgan was a player you could and should model your game after.

"When he called me, I just knew who he was, the name," Dodson recalled. "Then just studying the playbook, studying the personnel. I knew who he was when he called me. I was like, 'Wow, happy, happy to come.'

"He just looks the part. He looks like us. He is one of us."

Now, Dodson's going about the business of becoming one of the Panthers. He's still acclimating to a new playbook. He's only been here a couple of weeks, so all of this is new.

Parker Petersen, Tyrel Dodson, Jaelan Phillips and Emily Gerdes are seen during Carolina Panthers Training Camp Tuesday, Sep 1, 2026 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

But unlike a lot of guys who come here on a practice squad, Dodson found an apartment immediately upon arrival, sensing this would become a stable situation for him quickly. And he's still in the newcomer phase of being a Charlottean, relying on Google Maps to help him navigate the downtown loop.

He's been here long enough to have found a matcha spot ("Shoutout to Gotcha Matcha, free plug," he laughed), but he knows he's still new enough here that it might take some time to make his full impact.

But he also looks across the practice field and sees a familiar face, and for Dodson, for now, that's enough.

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EJ Williams and quarterback Bryce Young are seen during Carolina Panthers practice Thursday, Sep 17, 2026 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.