The Panthers have lost their speed threat at wide receiver to a leg injury, just as he was starting to find his role in the offense and begin to contribute on special teams. The young wide receiver was beginning not only to show growth as an option to stretch the field, but was building a rapport with Cam Newton and being looked to on shorter routes and around the red zone. The wideout was expected to open up underneath passing routes for tight ends, give the run game room to blossom, and not allow defenses to tilt coverage to #1 wideout Devin Funchess; that responsibility will now fall to a group of wide receivers that most fans outside of Charlotte would struggle to name.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Like Curtis Samuel before him, wide receiver Damiere Byrd has been placed on injured reserve after suffering a lower leg injury, leaving the Panthers with unknown quantities at the wide receiver position, aside from Funchess, who has 61 receptions for 792 yards thus far in 2017. Byrd’s injury comes just as the former Gamecock and fan favorite was breaking into the spotlight with three touchdowns in the past two weeks, two coming via receptions in the red zone and the most recent being a 103-yard kickoff return in the Panthers 22-19 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sources have said that Byrd will not need surgery, which is a positive sign for a wide receiver group that will start the 2018 season with a returning Byrd and Samuel in addition to Funchess, who has grown into his #1 wide receiver role after the midseason trade of Kelvin Benjamin. As has been the Panthers’ attitude as they’ve continued to face adversity this season, Ron Rivera will look to the ‘next man up’ to make an impact.
“It’s tough, but you know, Kaelin Clay stepped up,” Ron Rivera said about the loss of Byrd, whose two touchdowns were the second-most for a wide receiver on the Panthers in 2017. “Bersin’s been very consistent, plus we’ll get Shep [Russell Shepard] back this week. We feel good about it; we thought Mose Frazier was a guy that we’ve liked since training camp and he got his opportunity and went in the game and did some things we needed him to do.”
“Little bit of a shot to what we’re trying to do, but at the same time, we have guys that will come in and fill that role as well.”
With Byrd out, the Panthers will, once again, ask Kaelin Clay to keep defenses from honing in on Funchess and Olsen, as well as trying to eliminate the eight-man boxes the running game was dealing with for much of the first half of the season. Clay, who will take some of the special teams duties that Byrd handled as well, has four catches for 42 yards on the season.
“You know, you’ve just got to be ready,” Clay said a few weeks ago ahead of the Panthers win over the Vikings. “That’s one thing that the coaches, they harp on; next man up, everybody’s got to be ready, do your job. I’m familiar with the system, so it just shows that the coaches trust in me; I’ve just got to keep getting better every week.”
The Panthers will also be hoping that veteran wideout and roster stalwart Brenton Bersin can contribute; Bersin and Clay combined for three catches for 47 yards during the Panthers game-winning drive against the Bucs that ended with Cam Newton plunging in for the go-ahead touchdown.
