A day after cutting 23 players and placing one on injured reserve, the Carolina Panthers continued to refine their roster by claiming rookie defensive tackle Ra'Shon Harris and rookie running back Tyrell Sutton off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers, respectively. The moves increase the Panthers' roster to the NFL limit of 53 players.
Harris will provide depth along the interior of the defensive line. Carolina only had three defensive tackles on the roster after waiving Marlon Favorite and George Hypolite and placing Corvey Irvin on injured reserve in the final roster cutdown on Saturday. Sutton gives the Panthers an extra running back behind DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart - who did not play during the preseason because of an ankle injury - and Mike Goodson.
Harris, 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, played in all four preseason games with the Steelers and recorded six tackles and 1.5 sacks, including one for a loss of 11 yards in the preseason finale at Carolina. Selected in the sixth round (205th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft from Oregon by Pittsburgh, he played in 36 career games and compiled 65 tackles and four sacks for the Ducks. As a senior in 2008, Harris started all 13 games and registered 47 tackles, three sacks and nine tackles for loss – tops among the team's interior linemen.
Sutton, 5-foot-8 and 213 pounds, ranked fifth in the NFL during the preseason with 191 yards rushing on 40 attempts and led the Packers with a 24.4-yard kickoff-return average on five returns. Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2009 NFL Draft from Northwestern by Green Bay, he played in 40 games for the Wildcats and finished his career second in school history with 5,138 all-purpose yards and 3,886 rushing yards. An All-Big Ten honorable mention as a senior in 2008, he led the team with 890 yards and six touchdowns on 184 carries and posted 35 catches for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
