After watching the Jaguars sign away punter Brad Nortman with a 4-year, $8.8 million dollar deal in March, the Panthers still haven't found an answer on the roster.
That search continued Tuesday night when they signed Mike Scifres, who spent the past 13 seasons in San Diego. The Chargers released Scifres in April on the day they spent a sixth-round pick on Texas A&M punter Drew Kaser.
According to a team source, the Panthers haven't been impressed by the pair of punters they've used in offseason workouts. One of those — Michael Palardy — was released to make room for Scifres. The other — Swayze Waters — will now try to hold off Scifres.
"What I did for 13 years in San Diego I still feel that I’m capable of doing here," Scifres told the team website. "I still feel I can play.
"I was extremely excited when I got the call, because this was a situation that I had followed, knowing some of the players and coaches and seeing Brad (Nortman) go to Jacksonville. This was a definitely a team I wanted to play for."
Scifres, who turns 36 in October, was set to cost $4.2 million against the Chargers' cap in 2016. He's coming off one of the worst years of his career, but he's had plenty of success and experience in the league. Waters has never punted in an NFL regular-season game.