The Carolina Panthers have re-signed defensive tackle Dwan Edwards to a two-year contract, the team announced Tuesday.

“I wanted to finish what we started,” Edwards said. “I got here three years ago and the defense has been improving, we’ve made a couple playoff appearances and I want to see it through. We’ve got a great chemistry on the defensive line, and despite some of the challenges that faced us last year, we continued to battle and young guys stepped up and Coach (Eric) Washington did a great job. It was a great group to be a part of. From where we started to where we are now, I wanted to be a part of this.”

In 2014, Edwards, 6-3 and 305 pounds, played in all 16 regular season games, totaling 39 tackles, four sacks and one interception. He also played in both postseason games.

“Dwan has been very productive as a part of the defensive tackle rotation with Star Lotulelei, Kawann Short and Colin Cole,” head coach Ron Rivera said.  “I really appreciate the senior leadership he brings to the defensive line room and I’m excited to have him back on our team.”

Edwards joined Carolina in 2012 as a free agent and has helped the Panthers become one of three teams to field a top 10 defense in each of the last three seasons (2012-14). In 41 games with Carolina, Edwards has totaled 13 sacks. His six sacks during the 2012 season were a career high, ranked third in the NFL among defensive tackles and were tied for the second-most by a defensive tackle in Panthers history.

A veteran of 11 NFL seasons, Edwards played for the Baltimore Ravens (2004-09) and Buffalo Bills (2009-11) and prior to joining the Panthers. In 124 career regular season games with 64 starts, Edwards has 343 tackles, 18.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and three interceptions. He has also played in six postseason games with two starts.