It took a little time for Pather fans to warm up to Roman Harper when he joined the Carolina Panthers in 2014. Hated vehemently for what was a dirty shot or two at Steve Smith, we attracted the ire of many defensive backs, Harper had to work hard to ingratiate himself with Panther fans. He did, however. Amidst the taunting cries of "Old Bones" and "Slow Bones" Harper from fans like myself, the wiley veteran went to start 35 games for the Panthers and helped a young secondary mature quickly. He was a great teammate and leader who contributed significantly to the Panthers recent success. Despite these contributions and the great deal of uncertainty looming in Carolina's secondary, the Panthers decided to not bring back the old strong safety. 

Today, Harper re-signed with his former team and division rival, the New Orlean Saints. Like we were hoping Harper had some trade secrets to share when he joined the Panthers, Saints fans are hoping he can help the Sean Peyton crack Carolina's defense.

So here Panther fans are in a familiar place again--hating Roman Harper. Now that hate is just a little less, particularly because he followed so many of us on Twitter when he was a Panther. 

If you do happen to be reading Old Bones, best of luck...kind of, well not really, because Cam going to run over ya and even Olsen going to run by ya!

By the Professor, aka Tony Dunn

Follow me on Twitter @Cat_Chronicles