Carolina Panthers: Dontari Poe set to have surgery as bad news continues
The Carolina Panthers received some bad news on Monday.
Bad news keeps on piling up for the Carolina Panthers. Monday, it was announced that defensive tackle Dontari Poe will be out for the remainder of the season with a torn quad.
He is going to have surgery on his torn quad in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Poe seemed to have found his groove in 2019. Although he started off slow at the beginning of the season, he played strong over the past couple of weeks. He recorded 22 tackles and four sacks in 11 games. Starting 10 games, he also managed to record six quarterback hits. Those numbers were up from the 2018 season.
One particular game that stands out for him this season was on October 13 against Tampa Bay. Playing only 43% of defensive snaps, he recorded three tackles and a sack. He certainly made the most of his opportunities during the game.
It was nice to see him find his groove this year. It’s tough to see him go down with an injury like this. Last year, he didn’t look comfortable at all in the Carolina Panthers’ defense. This year, I could see progress being made and him playing like he did with the Atlanta Falcons. This is certainly going to be a big loss for the Carolina Panthers as they finish out the season.
I'm told Panthers DT Dontari Poe is currently electing to have surgery on his torn quad. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday at 6am in Charlotte, NC, at this time, per source.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) November 25, 2019
The interesting thing is his increase in salary this offseason. He is scheduled to make $10 million in 2020. That is a $4 million increase from what he counted against the cap in 2019. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers bring him back, or if they decide to use the resources elsewhere. $10 million is a lot of money and it certainly shortchanges Carolina’s flexibility. It will be interesting to see what they do as another busy offseason is set to get underway soon.
You never like to hear of injuries like this, and hopefully Poe will be able to get back on the field soon. There is no doubt that he is still an impactful player and he certainly filled his role well for the Carolina Panthers in 2019. This season, he showed what the Carolina Panthers thought they were getting last year. In what has been a tough season, his progress was certainly a bright spot.