Damiere Byrd suffered a broken arm on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks and will be placed on injured reserve, ending his season, the team announced Tuesday.
Byrd, who has only one reception for eight yards this season in eight games, played a large part on special teams as the team’s punt returner – Byrd had averaged 9.5 yards on 11 returns in 2018 and had a kickoff return for a touchdown last season.
Rookie wide receiver DJ Moore is expected to take over punt return duties, with Curtis Samuel handling kickoffs moving forward.
The 25-year old Byrd, who weighs only 180 pounds but runs a 4.2 40-yard dash, has battled injuries throughout his career – the speedster was placed on injured reserve twice in 2017; once after breaking his forearm – the same arm he broke on Sunday – in Week 4 at New England and then again after suffering a lower leg injury in Week 15; Byrd had scored three touchdowns in the span of two games before his season ended in Week 15 of last year.
The Panthers signed Byrd as an undrafted free agent after the 2015 draft and the undersized wide receiver spent the majority of two seasons on the practice squad before winning a spot on the main roster in 2017, where he spent most of his time on special teams and was pressed into duty when the Panthers had multiple injuries throughout the wide receiver room over the course of the year.
Byrd showed his ability stretched from the special teams side of the ball to the offensive side of the ball, as he impressed coaches with not only his known quantity – his speed – but also his route running and hands; the highlight of his offensive performance in 2017 was his #ButtDragSwag catch, which saw Byrd bobble a catch in the back of the end zone before eventually securing the ball among two Packers defenders as his rear end hit the ground.
Butt drag swag > Toe drag swag 😂
What a catch by Damiere Byrd (@LookIn_Da_Miere)! @Panthers #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/S4xq3EP9Dr— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) December 21, 2017
The Panthers have promoted cornerback Lorenzo Doss from the practice squad to fill the roster spot – Doss saw limited action in Week 2 against Atlanta; the Panthers only had four cornerbacks active against the Seahawks and when Donte Jackson left the game on the first defensive snap with a quad injury, they were forced to use Captain Munnerlyn and Corn Elder on the majority of the plays, which allowed Russell Wilson to eclipse 330 yards passing.
Jackson did not return on Sunday – the Panthers first injury report is released Wednesday.
