CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — The Carolina Panthers have signed wide receiver D.J. Chark as they continue another revamp of their offense.
The former Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions wideout inked a 1-year-deal Friday and marks the second free agent receiver signing for Carolina in the offseason.
Chark is coming off a 1-year, $10 million deal with the Detroit Lions — who opted to let the receiver go after he played in 11 games (10 starts). Chark only hauled in 30 receptions (52 targets) as the Lions’ No. 2 receiver behind Amon-Ra St. Brown for 502 yards and three touchdowns.
While those are somewhat of down numbers for a No. 2, jumping over the 500-yard plateau was the third-highest total of his career.
Chark was originally drafted No. 61 overall (second round) by Jacksonville in 2018 and signed a 4-year, $4.4 million rookie contract with the Jaguars.
He was once featured as the No. 1 receiver for Jacksonville, where he had a 1,000-yard season in 2019, before heading to Detroit. He finished with 2,042 yards, 147 catches (265 targets), 15 touchdowns and a 55.5 percent catch rate.
Chark marks the second former Jaguar receiver on the Panthers’ active roster.
Carolina traded for Laviska Shenault Jr. on Aug. 29. Shenault was also a former second-round pick — No. 42 in 2019.
The deal also comes after the Panthers sent their former No. 1 receiver, D.J. Moore, to the Chicago Bears in their acquisition of the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
No official details have come out on the new contract for Chark.