After ending the season last year with an injury, free agent Charles Tillman wants to return as an active player in the NFL. And, according to him, he still wants to play for the Carolina Panthers.
Tillman officially joined the Panthers in April of last year after signing a one-year contract. Although the cornerback assisted in driving the Panthers to Super Bowl 50, he wasn't able to play in the championship against the Denver Broncos due to a knee injury, which turned out to be a torn ACL.
Due to his season-ending injury, Tillman was not able to play with the Panthers until his contract expired.
Tillman has already undergone surgery for his injury and he that he's now ready to make an NFL comeback. And, if he could pick any team in the franchise, he would choose to continue playing with the Panthers.
"I just want to play for Carolina," he told NOLA.com. "That's the only team I really want to play for. It's a great group of men. A great group of coaches. The front-office guys are great. To me it was no surprise they were, or we were, 17-2."
"Being in Carolina felt like I had been there my entire career," he added. "The team, the community, the atmosphere, that vibe. The Carolinas - North Carolina and South Carolina - they showed a lot of love."
However, even though Tillman is already talking about returning to the league, this doesn't mean that he'll be able to play immediately. For one, he is still waiting for doctors to give him the clearance to play again. Also, as of the moment, no teams have expressed their interest in signing in.
According to the cornerback, it might take a couple of months before he gets to play professionally again. Once he's ready, he's targeting to join a team's training camp in preparation for next season.
The Panthers, on the other hand, have not yet issued a statement regarding their desire to give Tillman a new contract. Hopefully, they consider getting the free agent again since during his one year with the team, he made a few significant contributions.
