Panthers worst fears realized, Beason done for the season

When Jon Beason collapsed early in the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday. Every Carolina fan held their breath. It was bad, Beason was attempting to run down the Cardinals tight end Jeff King and just collapsed to the ground without even getting touched.

It looked bad and turns out it was bad as the Panthers announced today that the star middle linebacker has torn his Achilles Tendon and will be out for the entire season. Even after missing the rest of the third quarter and the entire forth quarter, Beason still finished with four tackles, tied for second most on the team.

This one hurts. Beason is the heart and soul of this defense and makes the Panthers defense much much better with him in the lineup. He is a game changer, has unbelievable instincts and its truly the heart and soul of the defense. He is irreplaceable.

But the Panthers have to move forward. Injuries are apart football and the torch is now passed on to Dan Connor. Connor is in his forth season in the NFL after playing at Penn State. He is more than an adequate backup but he lack’s Beason’s leadership and explosiveness.