Despite some success over his seven-season stay, Graham Gano didn’t leave behind the fondest of memories for Carolina Panthers fans. Turns out, the feeling is mutual towards the organization.
On Wednesday, the 34-year-old kicker said his time in Carolina ended on a concerning note, claiming the team’s medical staff botched his left leg injury from 2018.
“It was potentially career-ending,” the New York Giants kicker said. “That whole thing was mismanaged. They told me I had one injury when it was actually a lot worse than that. What really needed to be fixed wasn’t. I shouldn’t have missed the full season I did. But there’s no changing it now, so I’m just thankful to be playing here.”
Gano fractured his left femur during the 2018 season while with the Panthers. An alleged misdiagnosis, according to Gano, then led him to seek a second opinion, which resulted in season-ending surgery for the following 2019 campaign.
Carolina’s head trainer at the time, Ryan Vermillion, was placed on administrative leave by the Washington Football Team earlier this month. So Gano’s comments, particularly amidst the ongoing investigation of Vermillion, are certainly interesting.
He also expressed his frustration about the aftermath of the setback, saying he never got his chance to perform in front of new head coach Matt Rhule.
“I think it was actually the day I was coming back to kick in front of the new coaches [in July 2020],” he added said. “I was walking out the door and they stopped me and said, ‘Just wait.’ And they cut me right then. That was gonna be my first day kicking in front of the new staff.”
Well, he’ll definitely have his chance to kick in front of Rhule and his staff on Sunday.