Peanut Tillman names the one team he wants to join after getting healthy
Charles Tillman found a way to contribute to the Panthers' Super Bowl run a year ago
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1 min read
Charles Tillman, a 35-year-old cornerback coming off an ACL tear, a 13-year veteran with 168 regular-season games on his legs, isn't ready to retire. He also isn't ready to accept the first contract offer that comes his way.
Tillman, the former Bear of a dozen years, wants to play for one team and one team only.
"That's the only team I really want to play for," Tillman said on Saturday, per the Times-Picayune. "It's Carolina. It's a great group of men. ... A great group of coaches. The front-office guys are great. To me it was no surprise they were, or we were, 17-2."
Tillman joined the Panthers last April and found a way to contribute until his Week 17 injury, forcing two fumbles and picking off two passes. He also was to blame for that dumb Cam Newton Packers banner "controversy," but he at least made up for it by being effective enough in pass coverage.
Top 10 CBs in passer rating allowed: pic.twitter.com/njxI1txEpv
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) December 29, 2015
His insistence on returning to the Panthers makes sense. This late in his career, Tillman is still lacking a ring and Carolina gives him a legitimate chance to end his career with a Super Bowl. Furthermore, the Panthers' defense fits Tillman's aging skill set.
With fast LBs like Kuechly, Davis, Thompson, CB's have smaller zone areas to defend. That's why Norman wasn't worth the $ for #Panthers.
— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) May 12, 2016
The Panthers could also use him, too. For one, after they let Josh Norman depart in free agency, they drafted three cornerbacks. If Tillman is OK with taking on a lesser role with the team on a cheap contract, he could serve as a valuable mentor and veteran for those players. After all, Tillman's racked up 38 career interceptions and -- incredibly -- 44 forced fumbles.
Perhaps more incredibly, he's managed to survive this:
At the very worst, he'd be a depth signing. If that signing does happen, it won't happen until the eve of the season, as Tillman said he's still two months away from doing "a few more things."
"Being in Carolina felt like I had been there my entire career," Tillman said. "The team, the community, the atmosphere, that vibe. The Carolinas -- North Carolina and South Carolina -- they showed a lot of love."
