The return man has returned to the Carolina Panthers.
As announced on Tuesday morning, the Panthers have agreed to terms with running back Raheem Blackshear on a one-year deal. The 25-year-old became an unrestricted free agent earlier this offseason, after the team did not offer a tender.
Carolina first signed Blackshear off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad in September of 2022, when the Rutgers and Virginia Tech product was a rookie. Since then, he's appeared in 41 games for the Panthers over the last three seasons—amassing 203 yards and three touchdowns on 52 rushing attempts as well as 138 yards on 16 receptions.
Blackshear has served as the team's primary kickoff return specialist during that time. He brought back 19 attempts in 2022, 16 in 2023 and a league-leading 31 this past season—where he totaled the second-most return yards on kickoffs (791) amongst all players.
The 5-foot-9, 190-pounder also fielded a team-high 17 punts in 2024.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: NFL free agency: Panthers agree to terms with RB Raheem Blackshear