Panthers add former international track star to practice squad

The Carolina Panthers got themselves one heck of an athlete on Monday.

According to team reporter Darin Gantt, the Panthers have added wide receiver Praise Olatoke to their practice squad. The Lagos, Nigeria native will account as the 17th member of the group by way of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

Olatoke, who’d later move to Glasgow, Scotland at the age of five, was a member of the Scottish national track team and was named the Scottish U20 Athlete of the Year in 2019. He also competed in the 200 metres for the Great Britain team during the 2019 European Athletics U20 Championships.

After his time up north at Trinity Western University in Canada, Olatoke transferred to Ohio State University in 2021—where he’d capture First-team All-Big Ten honors for outdoor track. He then join the school’s club football team, helping spark his journey to pro football.

His initial taste of the NFL came earlier this year, when he was invited to participate in rookie minicamp for the Philadelphia Eagles. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound speedster would later sign with the Los Angeles Chargers in June and was cut in early August.

This is not the first instance of Carolina dabbling in the IPPP pool this offseason, as they worked out Irish kicker Rory Beggan during their rookie minicamp and previously rostered French defensive lineman Junior Aho.