The football gods were not shining on the Carolina Panthers
An already difficult task was made even tougher during the pregame on Sunday when potential All-Pro kicker Zane Gonzalez was ruled out with a quad injury.
This came with bizarre funny scenes of the Carolina Panthers essentially holding a kicking contest during warmups. We saw P.J. Walker, Brandon Zylstra, and punter Lachlan Edwards all attempting kickoffs and field goals.
It was eventually decided Zylstra would kick-off and if really needed Edwards would be tasked with field goal responsibilities. Although the Panthers didn’t end up trusting the player enough.
There’s been some criticism leveled at the Australian on social media, with some saying that as a punter he should be able to kick. Although that probably should be the case, as a former Australian Rules player he would have had little to no experience place-kicking.
Gonzalez has been the only constant for Carolina this season. But this injury could see the Panthers move on to its fourth kicker of the season.
However, the team would be wise to keep Gonzalez around no matter what. The kicker has been in exceptional form since joining the Panthers and undoubtedly played his way into a new contract.