!CHARLOTTE - Linebacker Jordan Senn, who recorded a pair of 14-tackle games over the final month of last season, has re-signed with the Panthers.
Senn became an unrestricted free agent on March 13, but the Panthers brought him back on the strength of his breakout season on defense and track record on special teams.
The Panthers have three proven starting linebackers in Jon Beason, Thomas Davis and James Anderson, but two of them – Beason and Davis – are coming off injuries that sidelined them for nearly all of the 2011 season.
Head coach Ron Rivera said at the recent NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., that the Panthers weren't opposed to adding more depth at the position.
"We need to seriously look at it, whether it is through the draft or once we finish the draft and make decisions on other players out there that are still free agents," Rivera said. "Adding depth would be a huge thing, and it is most certainly something we've got to look at."
Injuries opened the door for Senn to make the first seven starts of his four-year NFL career last season. He was the smallest starting linebacker in the league at 5-11, 224 pounds, but he came up big in his increased role by gathering 73 tackles.
Senn collected 14 stops in a Week 15 victory at the playoff-bound Houston Texans while also grabbing his first career interception and forcing a fumble. A week later, he compiled 14 more tackles in a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Senn also ranked second on the team in 2011 with 11 special teams tackles. Since joining the Panthers late in the 2009 season, he has 32 special teams tackles in 36 games.
An undrafted rookie out of Portland State in 2008, Senn had 15 special teams tackles for the Indianapolis Colts that season before being waived early in the 2009 season.
