Broncos Sign DT Sione Fua, Former Panthers Third Round Pick

November 4, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Sione Fua (94) tackles Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris (46) at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

With the sad news that Kevin Vickerson will be placed on injured reserve, the Denver Broncos made a corresponding roster move on Wednesday by signing former Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Sione Fua.

The Panthers drafted Fua with the 97th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the same draft class that produced Broncos star linebacker Von Miller.

Fua was very productive as a nose tackle for the Stanford Cardinal throughout his career, earning All-Pac 10 honors and racking up 80 tackles, 16 for loss, and nine sacks in 50 games.

As a member of the Panthers, Fua played in 11 games as a rookie and missed time with a hamstring issue. He played in 13 games in 2012 and was actually let go at final cut down time in 2013 but the Panthers brought him back when Ron Edwards suffered an injury.

Before Fua was let go by the Panthers a second time, the Panthers tried moving him to offensive guard, which obviously didn’t pan out.

I actually really liked Fua coming out of Stanford back in 2011. He’s a shorter nose tackle at 6’2″ 310 pounds, and he plays with great leverage. He’s a very strong interior lineman who will give the Broncos another body to work with and a guy who could probably come in in an emergency situation if needed. The Broncos are pretty deep on the defensive line, so Fua won’t be asked to do much early on.