Carolina Panthers re-sign DE Wes Horton to 2-year pact

The Carolina Panthers re-signed defensive end Wes Horton to a two-year contract, the team announced Monday.

Horton, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week.

The signing comes a day after the Panthers re-signed defensive end Mario Addison to a three-year contract worth a reported $22.5 million.

Horton played in 11 games with 10 starts for Carolina in 2016. He recorded 13 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Horton has played his entire NFL career with Carolina, originally joining the team in 2013 as an undrafted rookie free agent from Southern California.

"This is a very big day from where I started in the NFL, just being a guy trying to make a roster and find a way into the league," Horton told the team's website. "So to have the opportunity to have this extension with the Panthers is unbelievable. It's a moment I've worked for my whole career, and now that I'm here, I'm just very thankful."

Horton has started 27 of 45 regular-season games played in four NFL seasons, totaling 55 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 23 quarterback pressures, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one pass defensed.

Horton was waived and subsequently re-signed by the Panthers three times since October 2015. He wasn't on the team for the first five games of the 2016 season but became a starter shortly after his return and resumed his role as a force against the run.

"When you're on the street, unemployed, and you have an opportunity to come back, it definitely motivates you," Horton said. "I saw it as an opportunity to get my career back on track, and the Panthers allowed me to do that by giving me the reps. As the weeks went on, I felt more and more comfortable, and those reps created better and better play. I was dialed in."