Last summer, former University of Utah defensive lineman John Penisini retired from football after two seasons with the Detroit Lions.
Now, the 25-year-old is coming back to the NFL.
On Monday, the Carolina Panthers officially announced they had signed Penisini.
This came after agent David Canter announced Saturday on social media that Penisini would be headed to Carolina — Penisini responded to that by saying, “Run it back.”
Penisini played two seasons for the Lions — who drafted the former West Jordan High standout in 2020 — before retiring last June. He dealt with shoulder issues early in his NFL career and underwent surgery to have large masses removed from both of his shoulders, according to The Detroit News.
After missing the 2022 season, though, Penisini is back in the NFL, joining a Detroit team that just missed the playoffs last season.
As a rookie in 2020, Penisini, a sixth-round draft selection, started 12 games for the Lions.
He played in 32 games for Detroit and had 49 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, one pass deflection and a fumble recovery.