CHARLOTTE – The Panthers threw kicker Graham Gano on Thursday.
Gano missed the last four games of 2018 and all of 2019 with an injury to the plant’s left leg.
As recently as Wednesday, head coach Matt Rhule said that while he had not yet seen Gano kick, medical staff reports had been positive.
Gano, who came to Carolina midway through the 2012 season, ends his No. 2 term on the franchise list with 742 points (165 field goals, 247 extra points). During his six and a half seasons with the Panthers, he made 85.5 percent of his field goal attempts and was 95.0 percent in extra points. He also tied for the second-longest field goal in league history with a 63-yard winner against the Giants in 2018.
Joey Slye, who replaced Gano last year, is now the lone kicker on the list. Slye set a franchise record and led the NFL with eight field goals over 50 yards. In total, he was 25 of 32 in field goals and 31 of 35 in extra points.
The Panthers also pitched defensive end Chris Smith on Thursday. The seventh-year veteran and native of Salisbury, North Carolina, recently played nine games for the Browns last season.
