The Carolina Panthers have added another running back.
AJ Dillon, the bruising runner who spent 2025 with the Philadelphia Eagles, has signed with the Panthers in a one-year deal, a league source confirmed to The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday. Jordan Schultz was the first to report the transaction.
Dillon posted to X shortly after the news broke.
“#KeepPounding,” Dillon wrote. “Let’s goooo!!!!”
The move by the Panthers fortifies the team’s running back room. Dillon joins a group that includes starting running back Chuba Hubbard and last year’s draft pick Trevor Etienne, who got a bulk of his touches in the return game. It also includes Jonathon Brooks, who missed all of 2025 after tearing his ACL in his rookie season and thus has only played in three NFL games in two seasons.
Dillon’s arrival comes a few days after the official departure of Rico Dowdle from the Carolina franchise. Dowdle, who earned his second-consecutive 1,000-rushing-yard season in Carolina in 2025, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after testing out his market as an unrestricted free agent.
Dillon, who turns 28 in May, finished 2025 with seven games played, running for 60 yards on only 12 carries.
This story will be updated.