The Carolina Panthers‘ undrafted wide receiver, Dan Chisenda, was called up from the practice squad this week.
This move comes after many injuries to the wide receiver position, with rookie standout Tetoria McMillian questionable for the Week 10 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
Brycen Tremayne is another pass catcher, though questionable given his hip injury, which is why the decision to call up Chisenda was made.
Chisenda received the nod over former Pro Bowler Hunter Renfrow because of his ability to play special teams.
Oddly enough, Chisenda hasn’t had the ideal path for a professional football player. Aside from being undrafted in 2020, the former Penn State Nittany Lion only appeared in 12 collegiate games and caught just three passes for 66 total yards.
Before all of this, he was a freshman walk-on for both the team and the track team, earning a scholarship that put his football career on pause.
However, after a hamstring injury, the 6-foot-3 receiver returned to the Penn State football team and eventually earned a full-ride scholarship after scoring a touchdown in the 2019 spring football game.
Now at the NFL level, Chisenda has persevered throughout his five seasons. The Panthers are the fourth team for him after entering the league with the Minnesota Vikings, where he spent his first two seasons.
Chisenda also had short stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals in 2023 before finding his current home in Carolina, appearing in the final five games of last season.
With the special teams ability that Chisenda possesses, other receivers potentially sidelined, and uncertainty from the remaining healthy pass catchers, paired with a Saints team that has clearly struggled thus far in the season, it could be a game where Chisenda leaves his mark and assists the Panthers to 6-4 as they chase the NFC South division leaders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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