Former UCLA tight end Mike Seidman, a third-round selection, signed a three-year contract worth about $1.42 million July 21 with the Carolina Panthers.
“We felt it was very important to get it done so Mike could get in camp on time because he missed our summer school (June) workouts because of NCAA regulations,” Carolina general manager Marty Hurney told the Charlotte Observer. "When we drafted him, we saw somebody who was a very good all-around tight end.”
Seidman, an All-Pac-10 first team selection and Mackey Award finalist as a senior, had missed voluntary workouts with his new team due to an NFL rule that keeps rookies from participating in minicamps until school is out.
He returned to practice July 25 at the Panthers’ training camp at Spartanburg, S.C.
Former UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., who was taken by the Panthers six selections later also in the third round of April’s NFL draft, signed a three-year contract worth $1.392 million in May.
Manning also was not be allowed to practice at the start of Carolina's voluntary workouts July 23 because of the same NFL rule that does not allow for participation while school is in session.
Former UCLA running back DeShaun Foster, the Panthers’ second-round draft choice last year, returned to practice Saturday for the first time in almost a year. Foster sat out his entire rookie season with a knee injury he suffered during a preseason game.
The injury required microfracture surgery and was thought for a time to be career threatening.
With reports from Daily Bruin Wire Services.