CHARLOTTE — The Panthers have a new kicker.
And, they have their seventh-round pick back.
The Panthers waived kicker Ryan Santoso Tuesday, ending the experiment with the former Giants kicker after one week of the regular season. Santoso missed an extra point in Sunday's win over the Jets.
By making the change now, the Panthers no longer owe the Giants a seventh-round pick from their preseason trade, since the condition was that he'd have to be on the regular-season roster for two weeks.
To fill the roster spot, the Panthers signed Zane Gonzalez off the Lions practice squad.
The 26-year-old Gonzalez was in camp here earlier this summer as a tryout player.
He has also kicked for the Browns and Cardinals, and is a career 78.0 percent on field goals and 94.6 percent on extra points. His best year was with the Cardinals in 2019, when he hit 31-of-35 field goals (88.6 percent) and 34-of-35 extra points (97.1 percent).
When teams sign players off another team's practice squad, they're required to keep that player on the active roster for three weeks (to keep them from simply poaching from future opponents).
The Panthers also added cornerback Corn Elder to the practice squad.
This will be Elder's third stint with the team. Originally a fifth-round pick of the Panthers in 2017, he was released in final cuts in 2019, went to the Giants practice squad, and came back to the Panthers in November 2019. He signed with the Lions in April, but was released in final cuts there in August.
To make room for Elder on the practice squad, the Panthers released offensive lineman Mike Horton from the practice squad.
