Barely 24 hours after adding a huge name to the backfield in free agent running back CJ Anderson, the Panthers continued to add to their running back stable Tuesday afternoon by claiming former University of North Carolina and Oakland Raider running back Elijah Hood off of waivers and bringing him back home to North Carolina. The 22 year old spent most of last season on the Raiders practice squad before being released for the 2018 season; Hood dressed for only one game in the 2017 season, the Week 8 matchup against the Buffalo Bills due to a suspended Marshawn Lynch, but did not record any stats.
Photo Credit: NewsObserver.com
In college, however, Hood was all over the stat sheets. He finished his NCAA career with 2,580 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns over three years after rushing for over 3,000 yards in his junior and senior season at Charlotte Catholic High School, piling up over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns his sophomore season in Chapel Hill alone. The addition of the 5’11, 230 pound Hood gives the Panthers a solid crew of competition in the backfield as well as depth going into the 2018 season as he will likely battle Fozzy Whittaker and Cameron Artis-Payne for the final running back roster slot if not be a shoo-in for the practice squad.
Hood was drafted in the seventh round of the 2017 draft by the Raiders before being waived this week.
Twitter: @KeepPounDENN