CHARLOTTE – For six days, Charles Johnson was a defensive end without a team.
After nine seasons with the Panthers, he had been released. He fielded offers from several teams and visited the Giants and Buccaneers.
"It was awkward, weird, new. It was an experience," Johnson said. "The whole time everyone is like, 'Are you leaving? Are you not leaving?'
"I was just sitting back observing everybody and getting some entertainment out of it."
All along, Johnson knew there was a strong possibility he would return to Carolina, the team that drafted him in the third round in 2007.