Kelvin Benjamin Tears ACL

The Carolina Panthers and their fanbase received devastating news today when it was revealed that star receiver Kelvin Benjamin had torn his ACL. 

Benjamin was carted off of the field earlier with an unknown injury to his knee. Unfortunately, the team’s worst fears were realized.

Last season, Benjamin ended with 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. He was expected to be quarterback Cam Newton’s go-to option this season as the Panthers look to defend their NFC South title. 

Without Benjamin, the Panthers will need to look deeper into their roster to find viable weapons for Newton. Besides Greg Olsen, Benjamin was really Newton’s sole option last year.

The good news is that in this day and age, people can recover easily from torn ACL’s. Especially considering that he’s only 24-years-old.

The bad news of course is that he will miss a full year and that could majorly hurt his development.

The Panthers though, will need to move on and try to win games without Benjamin. In the wake of his injury, second round pick Devin Funchess figures to see a lot more action. 

Olsen will most likely be Newton’s primary target, but Funchess will now be relied on much more.

Funchess is similar in size to Benjamin and therefore will likely be used in a similar way. Some may think that after Funchess’ snail-like 4.70 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine he wouldn’t be used as the deep threat that Benjamin was. 

However, at Michigan’s pro day Funchess ran a 4.48 40-yard dash according to their official website. That is a full .13 seconds faster than what Kelvin Benjamin ran last year. 

Funchess has big potential to have a rookie season comparable to Benjamin’s if he possesses the talent that most believe he does.

In addition to Olsen and Funchess, the Panthers will rely on second year receiver Philly Brown. He only had 21 receptions for 296 yards last season, but he flashed potential to be a solid secondary option, especially for a team that lacks receivers like the Panthers. 

Running back Jonathan Stewart will also be relied on to make big plays. If he is healthy, he will be a focal point of the offense to distract the defense from their lack of receivers.

Fans can only hope that Benjamin recovers quickly and gets back to being as dangerous as ever for the beginning of next season. For now though, they will need to rely on lots of unproven assets to lead their offense.