The Special Teams woes continue to pile up for the Michigan Panthers. They’ve re-signed Simon Laryea to the roster, as punter Seth Vernon is dealing with an injury.
Seth Vernon has been punting the ball well for Michigna this year, having beat Laryea for the starting gig – as the two replaced Brock Miller in Training Camp.
However, with Vernon now injured, Laryea makes his way back to the roster. Laryea doesn’t have much professional experience, but has had a couple opportunities throughout his career. He played in the CFL, punting in four games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2022. He averaged 44.3 yards per punt with Hamilton, with a long of 61 yards.
Simon’s got a strong leg, and did impress GM Steve Kazor in camp. He’s pretty accurate with the ball as well, which is something that Michigan needs in a league where punting is a bit restricted due to the rules.
In other special teams news, the Michigan Panthers have cut LS Jordan Ober. Ober suffered an injury ahead of week four, and has clearly been hampered by his ankle over the last two weeks. He had an errant snap in week four against Memphis, but it ultimately didn’t matter as the Panthers easily won that game 27-9.
With Ober still having to recover, the Panthers will stick with Peter Bowden, who played for the team this past week in St. Louis. Losing Ober is unfortunate, as he earned All-UFL honors a season ago – and is one of the top long snappers in the scene.
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