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Running back Elijah Hood‘s 2018 season ended on the opening kickoff of the Panthers’ final preseason game, but he’ll be back in Carolina for a shot at a better outcome in 2019.

Hood was set for exclusive rights free agency this offseason, which means he would remain under Panthers control as long as the team tendered him a contract. The team did tender Hood a contract and announced on Monday that he has signed it.

Hood joined the Panthers off of waivers last May and tore his ACL in that preseason game last August. He was a seventh-round pick of the Raiders in 2017 and appeared in one game during his rookie season.

Christian McCaffrey is set as the starting back for the Panthers. Cameron Artis-Payne, Kenjon Barner, Traveris Cadet and Fozzy Whittaker are all set to become free agents next month, so Hood could be in the mix for backup work depending on what other moves the team makes.