Moose Muhammad III gets his NFL chance where his father is legendary
You can’t retell the career of Muhsin Muhammad without mentioning the everlasting image of him.
You know the one. It’s from the January 2004 NFC Championship game in Philadelphia, right after the Carolina Panthers’ go-up-and-get-it receiver caught a 24-yard touchdown pass and got on one knee and shushed the home crowd — showing the veteran at his most steely, his most composed.
But to remember the past week of Muhammad?
The one where he was a nervous father, waiting for his son, Moose, to get the call that would deliver him his NFL chance?
The call that eventually came with the Carolina Panthers — the team his legacy is so closely intertwined?
Muhsin was neither steely nor composed, according to his smiling son. Quite the opposite.
“His reaction? Man, just shocked,” Moose Muhammad III told reporters on Friday. “It was a full-circle moment for sure.”
Moose Muhammad III told this story during his debut at the Panthers’ rookie minicamp. He’s 24, fresh off a five-season career at Texas A&M, where he collected 81 career catches for 1,163 yards and 12 touchdowns.
And while the 6-foot-1, 195-pound receiver is a rookie — he signed on officially as an undrafted free agent earlier this week — he exudes every bit of his father’s equanimity (besides draft weekend, of course).
He knows his name and the weight it carries. It’s something he’s had to live up to his whole life growing up at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, not far from where he notched his first practice in Uptown Charlotte on Friday.
“My dad played here 14 years in the league,” Moose said. “I got to go off to college at A&M, and (now I) get to come back and play in my hometown, where I grew up. It’s special.”
Moose might consider his chance with the Panthers “special” for more reasons beyond his father’s legacy in Carolina. Any chance to make an NFL roster is worth cherishing. Plus, the Panthers under head coach Dave Canales have proven they’re willing to take chances on undrafted rookie receivers — particularly those who can carve out a role on special teams.
The shining example is Jalen Coker. The sought-after undrafted free agent out of Holy Cross signed with the Panthers last offseason and even made the initial 53-man roster before getting cut the next day. He eventually cleared waivers, however, and landed on the Panthers practice squad — and then, when a slew of injuries opened up opportunities for him, Coker was elevated to the active roster and made himself indispensable among the pass-catchers for an ascending Bryce Young at the end of 2024.
That’s not the only time a Canales-coached team has bet on a undrafted free agent’s potential. In Super Bowl XLIX, to conclude the 2014 season, Canales was an offensive assistant coach for the Seattle Seahawks who played with five undrafted free agents.
Those guys: Doug Baldwin, Ricardo Lockette, Jermaine Kearse, Bryan Walters and Chris Matthews. All receivers.
Moose wasn’t asked about the numbers game that is the NFL offseason on Friday. Instead he mostly stuck to the platitudes — of being “a good teammate,” for one. Of “doing the things I need to do to get where I’m trying to go,” for another.
Plus, there wasn’t much to discern in the way of reps Friday. Every receiver went over simple special teams coverages, ran uncontested routes and caught passes from Ethan Garber, the only QB the Panthers brought in for rookie minicamp.
Still, Moose’s presence was felt. And because of his name, and what his name means to Carolina, his father’s presence was felt, too.
Does that add any pressure?
“I wouldn’t say so,” the rookie said. “Pressure for me is a privilege. That’s what I was taught in college. It either busts pipes or makes diamonds. Just having fun with my teammates, taking it one step at a time. That’s how I keep it composed.”
Composed, just like his father. Decades later. For the same team.
This story was originally published May 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
