Running back AJ Dillon punched in a touchdown for the Carolina Panthers during the NFL’s Pro Football Hall of Fame preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 6.
What was his TD celebration? A special tribute that may look familiar to Green Bay Packers fans.
In December 2022, when AJ scored a touchdown for the Packers vs. their rival Chicago Bears, he celebrated by cradling the football and rocking it back-and-forth like a baby. At the time, the Quadfather and his wife, Gabrielle, were expecting their first child. Their son, Algiers “Trey” Dillon III, was born on AJ’s birthday that spring.
Fast-forward to Aug. 6’s Hall of Fame game, the NFL preseason’s official start. Arizona struck first in the second quarter. The Panthers quickly clapped back to tie the game, with AJ scoring a 1-yard touchdown to cap a 10-play, 67-yard possession.
His celly − you guessed it − rocking the football like a baby, again. The Dillons announced in March that baby No. 2 is on the way − this time, a girl.
AJ shared the two TD celebrations back-to-back in an Aug. 7 Instagram reel.
“Football is back! Felt right to hit this one again #keeppounding,” he captioned it.
“best dad we are so lucky” Gabrielle wrote in the comments.
The Panthers beat the Cardinals, 33-30, with rookie QB Haynes King running for a game-winning touchdown as time expired. Dillon finished with three carries for 18 yards.
Tim Weaver of Panthers Wire called Dillon one of the “handful of guys that stood out in a good way,” highlighting how “Carolina’s run game came to life in the second quarter when Dillon hit the field, flashing some of the former explosiveness we saw early in his career in Green Bay.”
Around The NFL’s Nick Shook wrote that, while Dillon is “buried on Carolina’s depth chart,” it was “nice to see him pop on an NFL field for the first time in a while.”
Dillon spent his first five NFL seasons with the Packers, the team that drafted him. He signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in March 2025 on a one-year deal.
He played in seven regular-season games for the Eagles, rushing for 60 yards on 12 carries and catching three passes for 21 yards.
In March 2026, the Panthers announced that AJ would be joining the team. NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported that the deal is for one year.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: AJ Dillon got a touchdown. His celebration is familiar to Packers fans
Reporting by Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
