CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano said in September that missing a 50-yard field goal in the final seconds of a 21-20 opening night loss at Denver wouldn’t define his season.
Perhaps, but it defined Carolina’s.
That brings us to the finale of an 11-part analysis of the Panthers' roster.
Next up: Special teams
2016 grade: C-minus. Gano’s miss in the opener set the tone for a season in which the Panthers lost six games by a field goal or less. He also missed a 43-yarder prior to halftime in what turned out to be a 17-14 loss to Tampa Bay and an extra point after Carolina rallied from a big deficit against New Orlenas. Losing punter Andy Lee to a hamstring injury nine games into the season when he was averaging 49.1 yards a kick also was a big blow, but not as big as Gano’s misses. Overall special teams didn’t perform poorly. Only one kick return for a touchdown was allowed. But in giving an overall grade you can’t downplay the impact Gano’s misses had even though he was dealing with a foot injury much of the season.
Under contract (2017 salary cap number): Gano ($4,000,000), Lee ($3,433,000), LS J.J. Jansen ($1,040,000).
Key free agents: P Michael Palardy, UFA.
The good: The top specialists are locked down contractually, and Lee was having a solid season before the hamstring injury sidelined him. Jansen is one of the best long snappers and many of the young players brought in to shore up the rest of the special teams last season performed well. The Washington Redskins gave up on Gano after he struggled in 2011 and he came back and had four really solid seasons for the Panthers. He actually made one more field goal (17) between 40-49 yards this season than he did the previous season. He wasn’t that far off. He just missed at critical times.
The bad: Gano’s 78.9 accuracy on field goals was his lowest since 2011 with Washington, and a broken bone in the heel of his plant foot might have had something to do with it. He had offseason surgery, so he should be good to go in 2017. The Panthers didn’t want to pay Brad Nortman in free agency after the 2015 season, so he signed with Jacksonville and will count $1.9 million against the Jaguars cap in 2017. Carolina was forced to trade a fourth-round pick in 2018 to Cleveland late in training camp for Lee, who will count $3.433 million this coming season. So much for trying to save money.
The draft: The Panthers plan to create competition for Gano either through free agency or the draft – or both. The top-rated kickers in the draft are Auburn’s Daniel Carlson, Arizona State’s Zane Gonzalez and Florida’s Eddy Pineiro should general manager Dave Gettleman choose to spend a middle- to late-round pick on one. That seems highly doubtful.
Final thought: A common phrase throughout last season was “Gano Gone." Coach Ron Rivera made it clear they were sticking by Gano but also made it clear he would heighten competition for the position. Understanding Gano’s foot injury and the fact the entire team struggled this past season, I look for Gano to bounce back strong. I also look for Gettleman to add a young, inexpensive kicker through free agency to challenge Gano.