A day after he was released by the Bills, defensive end Lavar Edwards was back in his native Louisiana. Newly unemployed and facing a Sunday afternoon at home by himself, Edwards was chatting with a buddy about LSU's loss to Wisconsin.
That's when the buzzing started.
"I was on the phone and my Twitter notifications started going off," Edwards recalled Monday. "It said something about the Panthers. I was like, 'Why they following me?' I looked at it and I saw that I had been claimed by the Panthers.
"Right after that happened, my agent called me and I was like, 'Thank you!' I was excited, man."
With the Panthers looking to improve their depth behind starters Charles Johnson and Kony Ealy, Edwards became the first day-after-cuts waiver pickup in the Dave Gettleman era.
After the Titans had taken him in the fifth round of the 2013 draft, Edwards made just nine tackles in seven games as a rookie. He then bounced from Dallas to Chicago to Buffalo, totaling one tackle the past two seasons.
So what do the Panthers see in someone whose 3-year career features no sacks and 10 tackles?
"We think he's an explosive guy," coach Ron Rivera said. "There's some really good film on him from Buffalo."
Edwards wasn't a good fit for the Bills' 3-4 defense, and the Panthers hope the 6-foot-4, 275-pounder can bring something their other ends don't. Disciplined against the run, Edwards can play both sides of the line and on the interior.
Because Monday was his first practice with his new team, and he's essentially the 53rd guy on the roster, Edwards could be inactive Thursday night against the Broncos. But that's better than waiting for your Twitter to blow up.
"It was a blessing (that with) the group of guys they already have here, they thought enough of me to bring me in," Edwards said. "I'm just grateful and blessed."