New Carolina Panther Tarik Cohen thought ‘it was over.’ His son reminded him it wasn’t

The moment Tarik Cohen set himself on the path to becoming a contributor for the Carolina Panthers, he was doing what fathers do: playing with his 1-year-old son in his backyard in High Point, North Carolina.

“I was just running around the house with my son, out in the yard,” Cohen said with a shrug. “I’d been working out, and I was just feeling more and more like my old self.”

He soon after phoned his agent.

The message was direct.

“Call Carolina, and see if they could use me,” he said. “And if they can, then I’m ready.”

Cohen told this story on Wednesday morning, not 24 hours after news broke that the Panthers were bringing the 28-year-old running back to their practice squad. Cohen called the moment a “surreal” one, and understandably so.

Six years ago, after all, he was a Chicago Bears draft pick and rookie. Five years ago, he was a beloved running back and explosive All-Pro returner. Two years ago, he suffered a knee injury that made him miss most of 2020 and all of 2021. And a year ago, he tore his Achilles during an individual workout — one that was supposed to signify a triumphant return to the NFL.

In fact, as little as a few months ago, right around draft time in April, the former NFL star contemplated if “it was over.”

And for a moment, it was.

But on Wednesday, on his way to the locker room for his first NFL practice in close to two years, here he was.

“You see all the pictures on the wall,” Cohen said. “Seeing Julius Peppers, I played against his high school almost every year. Seeing him on that wall, I just really feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.

“You know how stuff is just, like, written? That’s how this feels.”

It’s true that a lot of stars aligned for Cohen to be at Carolina. His family is close by. So is his Bunn, N.C., hometown and his North Carolina A&T alma mater. His exact words, when describing how badly he wanted to be a Panther: “I was only targeting this team,” and, “I treated every workout by myself as if it was a workout for them.”

But it’s also true that Cohen is a fit for the Panthers.

“I was really excited to see him after the workout,” Carolina coach Frank Reich said. “I remember when he was with the Bears just watching him and thinking ‘Man, this guy is just different.’ Not only physically is he different, but his quickness, and as a runner. I coached Darren Sproles, so a very similar type of player, and I felt that there is a little bit of that in him. Particularly with that dynamic as a returner as well.”

Reich estimated that it would take him a few weeks to get into adequate football shape to be listed as “active” on game day. Cohen estimated a “week and a half” — even though, in a burst of youthful enthusiasm, he said he also feels ready to go now.

“If I wasn’t myself, if I was a fraction of myself, I wouldn’t come back at all,” he said, adding, “I feel like a car that’s been in the garage. Brand new Ferrari that just hasn’t been driven in a long, long time.”

His arrival would be nice for a team that struggled in the return game in Week 1 and whose explosive offensive needs were a talking point all preseason.

One person who wouldn’t mind an early arrival? Shaq Thompson.

“I played against Tarik when he was with the Bears, and we went to Solider Field, and it was my first time playing MIKE linebacker, when Luke (Kuechly) was hurt,” Thompson recalled of that 2018 game. “And I remember telling him, ‘I’m gonna give him a speeding ticket’ because he was running too damn fast on the field. So I definitely remember that.

“It’s a good addition for us and for him, obviously because he’s back in football, and we got a great returner, a good back, and a good third-down back as well.”

Skill and talent and upside aside, the Panthers also, simply put, got a likable guy.

He has a tight circle of friends. Cohen ultimately learned he’d earned a spot with the Carolina Panthers while playing video games with his friends — either 2K or Madden or Call of Duty — and he put the call on speaker phone, so his friends and family could listen in on the moment with him, before “losing his mind” with joy.

His coaches seem to love him. He worked out at Ragsdale High with old high school and college coaches, he said, and he’s reuniting with special teams coordinator Chris Tabor in Carolina — a coach he endearingly called “crazy as hell” and “funny” and “like my cousin, the white cousin in my family.” (Said Tabor of Cohen: “He means a lot to me.”)

And his family seems to mean everything to him. That’s true for those who are gone as well as those who are here. Cohen lost both of his brothers at early ages due to tragic accidents, events in which he opened up about in a Players Tribune article last summer. The middle name of his son, Carter Tyrell, is the name of his deceased twin.

“My family is the main reason why I wanted to stay here,” Cohen said.

“Here,” of course, being Carolina — the place where he can continue chasing his son around his backyard and his NFL dream all at once.