Former Seattle Seahawk, Jacksonville Jaguar and now Houston Texan, Shaquill Griffin, was released by the Texans yesterday. Now, with 24 hours having passed for him to clear waivers, it looks like the veteran cornerback has found himself a new home – at least for the moment – per Adam Schefter.
Panthers claimed veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin off waivers Thursday. He was released by the Texans on Wednesday.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 30, 2023
What Does The Addition Of Shaquill Griffin Mean For The Carolina Panthers?
The Carolina Panthers are currently a team in flux, having just fired their head coach, Frank Reich, leaving Special Teams Coordinator, Chris Tabor, running the show in Charlotte. As such with incoming new – however temporary it may end up being – regimes, fresh faces are often a sign of moving on from the past and into the future.
Shaquill Griffin may be a fresh face in Carolina, but the veteran, Pro-Bowl corner is no starry-eyed rookie, having played in 84 games over the past five years. Amidst a defensive back group that is still missing former first round pick and (when healthy) standout, Jaycee Horn, having a fresh pair of hands could well be beneficial for the Panthers, who have no incentive to tank due having traded away this year’s first round pick to the Chicago Bears earlier this year.
Moreover, it could just be that the Carolina Panthers were one of many teams that considered Shaquill Griffin to still be valuable starter on a reasonable contract. As the Panthers have the worst record in the NFL (1-10), they had first pick on whether to claim the former Texans corner. It could well have been the case that multiple teams behind Carolina had placed waiver bids for the Florida native, but only the league-worst Panthers ended up getting their guy.
Will this make a vast difference to the outcome of the Carolina Panthers’ season – probably not. Is it a nice piece to help the Panthers get back on track and see if they can turn themselves into something vaguely resembling respectable for the last 5 weeks of the season – sure.
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