4 Panthers players whose stock crashed beyond repair in 2022
By Noah Bryce
Donte Jackson – Carolina Panthers CB
This one is painful to write.
Donte Jackson is the perfect example of a player that has all the skill in the world but can’t stay healthy enough to utilize it. The promising cornerback has now missed the majority of three separate seasons with various injuries that all came at the worst possible time for himself and the Carolina Panthers.
Just as Jackson comes back and starts to get into a solid rhythm again, another injury robs him of that momentum. This time it is one that could even end the young cornerback’s career.
We’ve seen just how hard it is for someone to come back from an Achilles tear. Basketball superstar Kevin Durant took a full year to heal and it also took a considerable amount of time and care to bring the power forward back up to NBA speed.
Now imagine an athlete tasked with guarding some of the fastest people in the country play after play, having to both keep up with that top-end speed as well as the lateral quickness and other moves that wide receivers may pull. Think about how hard it would be to get back up to that kind of condition.
It will not be an easy road for Jackson. There is no guarantee that the former second-round pick out of LSU will ever be the same player again.
Jackson is fresh off a sizeable extension from the Panthers, which was given in the hope something like this wouldn’t happen again. This is beginning to look like yet another questionable decision by the front office.