The Panthers need all the good news they can get, after their offense flat-lined against the worst defense in the NFL yesterday.
Via Bryan Strickland of the team’s official website, the team got a reprieve when tests on Kelvin Benjamin’s left knee came back negative.
“He got an MRI last night, and it came back pretty good. We’ll see how his treatment goes,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “They told me that it had all come out negative and there was nothing structurally wrong, which was good news because it was his repaired knee.”
Benjamin tore the ACL in his left knee in training camp in 2015, forcing him to miss his second season.
Rivera also said that center Ryan Kalil was “doing a lot better” after he missed his second straight game with a neck injury,
“I know they’ve got him working, doing whatever they need to,” Rivera said. But again I don’t want to get into predicting timeframes.”
Being without Kalil hasn’t helped, as the offensive line which allowed no sacks in the opener has allowed 10 in the two games since. But being without Benjamin for any significant stretch could be a disaster, since they’re already missing tight end Greg Olsen for the next seven weeks.
Now they just have to play the Patriots, who took over the 32nd spot in the league rankings in total defense from the Saints after yesterday’s games.