Just a week before the NFL season is set to begin, it is now already over for Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano due to recurring pain in his knee.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Carolina placed the 2017 Pro Bowl kicker on injured reserve and will make Joey Slye its starter for the beginning of the season.
Gano was one of the best kickers in the NFL during the 2017 season with 29-of-30 field-goal attempts converted and a perfect mark from kicks inside the 50-yard line. The veteran missed four games last season due to the knee injury but still made 14-of-16 attempts and made three-of-four attempts from 50-plus yards.
Slye is a 23-year-old from Virginia Tech who converted four-of-five attempts during the preseason and showed off impressive power. He made 98.3 percent of his extra-point attempts and 72.2 percent of his field goals across four years with the Hokies.