Deion Sanders won’t have to spend this season game-planning around Haynes King, and he sounds plenty happy about that.
King is now with the Carolina Panthers after signing as a free agent following the 2026 NFL Draft, and he wasted little time flashing the same kind of big-moment ability that made him such a problem in college. In the Hall of Fame Game, King delivered the game-winning touchdown for the Panthers.
That’s the version of King Sanders remembers best from Georgia Tech, especially after the quarterback carved up Colorado in the opening game of the 2025 season. King finished that matchup with a 45-yard run for the game-winning touchdown, and Sanders made it clear he hasn’t forgotten how hard King was to put away.
“Thank God that quarterback [Haynes King] is gone. That kid, that kid refused to lose a year ago, and he was definitely a difference maker.
I think he had, what, 140 yards rushing? Something like that.
- Thank you for checking.
I wanted to settle for 140. Yeah, this is a great team though, man.
I love it,” Sanders said.
King’s numbers against Colorado backed up the memory. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards and an interception, while also piling up 156 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Every Georgia Tech score in the game came from King, and that was enough to lift the Yellow Jackets to the win.
Since then, the two programs have taken different paths. Colorado managed just three wins and spent much of the season struggling, while Georgia Tech finished 9-4 before falling in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Now Sanders and Georgia Tech are looking ahead to the season opener, and King is turning the page to the NFL. The Panthers are carrying three quarterbacks on the roster as they prepare to open the season against the Chicago Bears on September 13.
In Other News...
Panthers Spent A Future Pick On A Quiet Cutdown Day Addition
The Chargers cutdown-day business gave Carolina a small but notable foothold for the future, as the Panthers added undrafted defensive lineman TeRah Edwards in a trade that sent Los Angeles a 2028 sixth-round pick. It was a quiet roster move on the surface, the kind that barely registers outside of a transaction wire, but it fit into the Chargers broader effort to squeeze value from the edges of their initial 53-man roster.
For Carolina, the deal is another reminder that not every roster addition comes with immediate fanfare. Edwards arrives as a low-cost flier with a draft-pick price attached, and the Panthers clearly saw enough in him to justify parting with future capital. Whether the move turns into anything more than depth will take time to learn, but this is the sort of transaction teams make when they believe a player is worth a longer look than a normal waiver claim. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Fans Should Notice The QB Who Keeps Forcing Bigger Moments
The Panthers decision to keep three quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster says plenty about how much they wanted to preserve flexibility at the most important position, and it also puts an undrafted rookie into the conversation in a way few teams would have expected. Haynes King, who came out of Georgia Tech, turned enough heads in the preseason Hall of Fame Game to make his case, even while dealing with a hamstring injury.
Deion Sanders added another layer to the story by pointing back to a game when King helped Georgia Tech beat Colorado, a reminder that his biggest moments have a habit of showing up when the stakes rise. For Carolina, that makes King more than a camp success story. It gives the Panthers a young quarterback whose value may keep growing every time the lights get brighter. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Linebacker Shakeup Just Cost Carolina A Recent Draft Pick
The Panthers final roster trim brought a quick change at inside linebacker, and Trevin Wallace was the one who lost out. New York put in a claim for the 2024 third-round pick after Carolina released him, a move that came after the Panthers added veteran Bobby Okereke and reshaped the depth chart heading into the opener.
Carolinas Week 1 group now features Devin Lloyd, Okereke, Claudin Cherelus and Jackson Kuwatch, leaving a very different look than the one Wallace was trying to crack in camp. For a team still sorting out its linebacker rotation, the loss of a recent draft pick is another reminder that roster decisions in late August can carry real consequences well into the season. [Read more 🡒]