“He ain't gonna make it”: NFL fans react as Panthers add 6’9’’ ex-basketball player to tight end roster

The Carolina Panthers made an unusual addition to their tight end room on Monday. They signed a basketball player, Coastal Carolina power forward Colin Granger — a 6-foot-9 athlete, to help coach Dave Canales in the TE department. Fans shared their reactions on X about the signing as NFL insider Ari Meirov posted the update on Monday.

Granger hopes to follow others who have made the same move in the league. However, Fans had mixed reactions to this news, with some excited to see his potential and others unsure about the decision.

“Naw, he ain't gonna make it, he pats the ball too much,” one fan posted.

“Let’s see if someone can play football from basketball,” another fan said.

“(Four) protein shakes a day and he’ll be snatching redzone jump balls in no time. Love this,” a fan commented.

Here are other fan reactions:

“I like that for him. He looks a tad uncomfortable with that basketball,” one fan wrote.

“A 6’9” TE? Dude’s gonna be a Madden legend if he makes the team,” another fan posted.

“Yeah, right. It’s not likely a TE can make it out of Coastal Carolina,” a fan tweeted.

Granger will join a legendary lineage of former basketball players who have become NFL stars: Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham.

Who is Colin Granger, the latest addition to the Panthers' TE roster?

Colin Granger is trading hardwood for grass. The former Division I basketball center is set to take a shot at the NFL despite not having played organized football since eighth grade.

He spent five years of college basketball in Ohio, Western Carolina and Coastal Carolina. Granger shot 52.3% and hauled 322 total rebounds — including 137 in his final season at Coastal.

But now, he’ll compete for snaps against the likes of Tommy Tremble, Ja’Tavion Sanders and James Mitchell in a crowded tight end room.

Canales and general manager Dan Morgan aren’t strangers to hoops-to-gridiron transitions. In Seattle, the duo helped turn former Western Kentucky baller George Fant into an NFL offensive lineman. Fant is now mentoring Granger and reportedly tipped off the Panthers about his potential.