The Carolina Panthers have fired former All-Pro running back Tarik Cohen, eight months after they first signed him, in an effort to spark his NFL comeback, according to lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.

Cohen, 28, spent his entire 2023 season on the scout team after initially joining the Panthers’ practice squad in September of the previous year. Despite having last played an official NFL snap in the 2020 season, he signed a new deal with Carolina in January with the intention of competing for a position on the team’s 2024 roster.
The former Chicago Bears star’s release is the most recent in a string of setbacks that have occurred over the past few years. He was sidelined for all but three games in 2020 due to a ruptured ACL, MCL, and leg fracture, which occurred weeks after he signed a three-year contract extension with Chicago. After being sidelined for the entirety of 2021 for recuperation, Cohen was released by the Bears in March of 2022. He tore his Achilles tendon two months later while working out as a free agent, forcing him to miss the whole 2022 season.

Despite his modest frame (5-foot-6, 191 pounds), the running back, a fourth-round draft pick out of North Carolina A&T in 2017, initially made an impact as a pass receiver and return specialist in Chicago. In back-to-back seasons from 2018 to 2019, he broke 70 catches and 300 punt return yards, earning selections to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams.
Along with free agent Rashaad Penny, the Panthers also signed running back Jonathan Brooks through the draft to strengthen their group behind returning ball carriers Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard.