UPDATE (8:00 p.m. ET): Kelvin Benjamin confirmed the worst Wednesday evening, via his Instagram account: He suffered a torn ACL and will miss the 2015 season.
UPDATE (11:52 a.m. ET): Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera provided an update on Benjamin’s injury after Wednesday’s practice. For those fearing the worst, it was (somewhat) good news.
[tweet https://twitter.com/DNewtonespn/status/634018859855556608 align=’center’]
ORIGINAL STORY: The Carolina Panthers were the latest team to get a major injury scare Wednesday.
Second-year wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin went down with an apparent left knee injury in 1-on-1 drills during Carolina’s joint practice session with the Miami Dolphins.
A video of the play appears to show Benjamin falling to the turf after attempting to make a cut while running a route. He remained on the ground for several minutes before being helped onto a cart and taken off the field.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Jeff_Zell/status/633999307935477760 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/DNewtonespn/status/634000335644807168 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/DNewtonespn/status/634002348239650821 align=’center’]
The Panthers’ first-round draft pick in 2014, Benjamin led the team in receptions (73), receiving yards (1,008) and touchdowns (9) last season. He was one of just three rookie wideouts to top 1,000 receiving yards along with Odell Beckham Jr. and Mike Evans.
Losing Benjamin would be a huge blow for Carolina’s offense, which already lost receiver Stephen Hill to a torn ACL earlier in training camp and needs to improve this season if the Panthers hope to make a deep playoff run.
