There are several reasons why the Carolina Panthers can possibly overcome the loss of Kelvin Benjamin and still make the playoffs.
Advertisement
“Clearly, we really feel awful for”, Panthers common supervisor Dave Gettleman stated. “He’s worked tremendously hard to put himself in a positon to have a strong year”.
During a joint practice Wednesday with the Dolphins, Benjamin went down after cutting while running a route, immediately clutching his left knee. Whenever I see any player go down with what appears to be a devastating injury I get a pit in my stomach.
At the field, the trainers attended to Benjamin and quickly called for the cart to take him into the locker room.
Quarterback Cam Newton was there to assist his teammate onto the cart before practice resumed once more. The NFL tweeted a video showing Benjamin crumpling to the floor after his knee buckled while trying to make a “swim move”.
The injury is a significant blow to an already thin Panthers wide receiving corps. In 2014, Benjamin’s first season in the league, he caught 73 passes, eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark and scored nine touchdowns. Funchess has also been ruled out of Saturday’s game as he deals with a hamstring injury he sustained on Wednesday. Rivera had gushed about how great of shape Benjamin was in when the Panthers reported to Wofford College in late July. That leaves the Panthers with players like Corey Brown, Devin Funchess, Jerricho Cotchery, and Ted Ginn at the wide receiver position – in other words, it’s not good.
Benjamin was targeted 144 times last season, more than any rookie.
Rivera inadvertently spoke to that value when he specifically mentioned Boykin, Bersin and Damiere Byrd as guys who “made some plays” Wednesday in Benjamin’s absence. Not having your No. 1 guy on the practice field, it hurts you a little bit.
Said Panthers rookie Shaq Thompson: “It all comes down to being disciplined”.
It is recommended fantasy football players conduct their drafts as close to the start of the regular season as possible so rosters aren’t ruined by training-camp injuries.
It’s that kind of news that can stun a team and take the wind right out of its sails.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he and Dolphins coach Joe Philbin will watch for players whose tempers are beginning to flare and try to “nip it in the bud”.
Advertisement
“It’s not going to change the complexion of what we want to do or how we’re going to do it”, Rivera said.
