The Panthers claimed former Bucs cornerback Keenan Isaac off waivers on Wednesday, but Carolina head coach Dave Canales didn’t stop there when raiding his former team.

Canales, who was Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator last year, added another former Bucs player to the Panthers on Friday. Carolina signed veteran quarterback John Wolford to the practice squad.

The Athletic’s Joe Person had the news about Wolford, who was Tampa Bay’s No. 3 quarterback last year, on X.

The Panthers have Bryce Young, last year’s first overall pick, as their starting quarterback followed by veteran Andy Dalton. Wolford joins another quarterback, Jack Plummer, on the practice squad, and will likely serve as the No. 3 QB in Carolina this year.

Former Bucs QB John Wolford Joins The Panthers

Panthers head coach Dave Canales – Photo by: USA Today

Panthers head coach Dave Canales was a big fan of John Wolford, who spent three seasons with the Rams in a similar-based offense to what Canales imported from Seattle to Tampa Bay. On a preseason appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast last summer, Canales spoke very highly of Wolford.

“John’s fantastic,” Canales said last July. “He’s for sure – hands down – the smartest guy in the room. It’s not even close. He’s funny. He’s constant … I just love being around him. I heard great things about him through [Seahawks offensive coordinator] Shane [Waldron, who came from the Rams] and so when we had an opportunity to bring him in, he and I had a great conversation, and he came in and killed it.”

Wolford, who spent the majority of his lone season in Tampa Bay on the practice squad last year, was injured for the second consecutive preseason. Last year, Wolford sustained a neck injury in New York against the Jets that prevented him from playing in the preseason finale. This year, Wolford was hurt in the second preseason game at Jacksonville and suffered a rib injury that knocked him out of the preseason finale against Miami.

His arrival in Carolina should further help Bryce Young’s digestion of Canales’ playbook, which is what he ran in Tampa Bay last year.

Bucs QBs Kyle Trask and John Wolford – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I call him the Sandman because he’s our closer,” Canales said of Wolford. “He gets the last two or three reps of a period, and he just comes in and dials it up.

“He’s fantastic, and one of the coolest things to me is it’s a great feeling for a quarterback coach or an offensive coordinator when you know before the play starts where the ball should go, and it goes there. That’s John Wolford. He’s just like, ‘Alright, so this ball should go to the backline right here, and there it is, bang.’ Perfect, great job, John.”

Because of his lack of ideal NFL size and slight build, coupled with his penchant for getting injured, the Bucs decided to move on from Wolford this year as the team’s No. 3 quarterback on the practice squad. On Wednesday, Tampa Bay added Michael Pratt, a former seventh-round pick of the Green Bay Packers this past April, to the practice squad.

The Bucs liked Pratt in the pre-draft scouting process, and the former Tulane star will compete with Kyle Trask for the backup job behind Baker Mayfield once he learns the playbook.