Former UCLA tight end Mike Seidman, a third-round selection,
signed a three-year contract worth about $1.42 million July 21 with
the Carolina Panthers.
“We felt it was very important to get it done so Mike
could get in camp on time because he missed our summer school
(June) workouts because of NCAA regulations,” Carolina
general manager Marty Hurney told the Charlotte Observer. "When we
drafted him, we saw somebody who was a very good all-around tight
end.”
Seidman, an All-Pac-10 first team selection and Mackey Award
finalist as a senior, had missed voluntary workouts with his new
team due to an NFL rule that keeps rookies from participating in
minicamps until school is out.
He returned to practice July 25 at the Panthers’ training
camp at Spartanburg, S.C.
Former UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., who was taken by the
Panthers six selections later also in the third round of
April’s NFL draft, signed a three-year contract worth $1.392
million in May.
Manning also was not be allowed to practice at the start of
Carolina’s voluntary workouts July 23 because of the same NFL rule
that does not allow for participation while school is in
session.
Former UCLA running back DeShaun Foster, the Panthers’
second-round draft choice last year, returned to practice Saturday
for the first time in almost a year. Foster sat out his entire
rookie season with a knee injury he suffered during a preseason
game.
The injury required microfracture surgery and was thought for a
time to be career threatening.
With reports from Daily Bruin Wire Services.