The Panthers' roster reached 53 on Tuesday evening when the team signed defensive tackle Ron Fields and offensive lineman Reggie Wells and placed linebacker Jon Beason on injured reserve.
Fields, a 6-2, 314-pounder who turned 30 on Tuesday, will be asked to provide a push in the middle, joining a position group consisting of a pair of rookies (Sione Fua, Terrell McClain) and a second-year player (Andre Neblett).
A fifth-round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 out of Mississippi State, Fields played four seasons with the 49ers and the last two with the Denver Broncos. He signed with the Miami Dolphins in the offseason but was released in the final roster cuts.
Fields has 134 career tackles. He played in every regular season game each of the past four seasons and has 81 career starts.
Wells has played guard throughout an NFL career that began in 2003, when the Arizona Cardinals selected him in the sixth round out of Clarion University. The 6-4, 318-pounder spent seven seasons with the Cardinals, starting every game from 2006-09 before joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010. The Eagles released him in final roster cuts earlier this month.
