Football
Len Pasquarelli 18y

Panthers bolster CB corps, sign Howard

Bolstering an already strong cornerback corps, the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday afternoon signed unrestricted free-agent cornerback Reggie Howard to a one-year contract. The financial details of the contract were not yet available.

Cornerback
Miami Dolphins

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2005 SEASON STATISTICS
TotAstSoloFFSackInt
463610221

Howard, who played the last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins before being released three weeks ago, will return to Carolina for a second stint. He played his first four seasons with the Panthers, and has his best seasons there, before signing with the Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent in 2004.

A starter for Carolina during his first term there, Howard combined for 147 tackles, four interceptions, 20 passes defensed and two sacks in 2002-2003. He will return to the Panthers, though as a backup and likely as the No. 4 cornerback on the roster.

The Panthers already have one of the NFL's top cornerback trios in starters Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble and nickel cornerback Ricky Manning. In addition to serving as the No. 4 cornerback, Howard probably will play on special teams.

In six seasons, Howard, who played at the University of Memphis, has played in 72 games and has 248 tackles, 4½ sacks, six interceptions and 27 passes defensed.

With the Dolphins, he started just 10 games in two seasons, including seven in 2005. The Dolphins want to get younger in general and Howard, 28, no longer fit into their plans.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

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