Carolina Panthers Wide Receiver Kelvin Benjamin Expected to Play This Sunday
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin has been given the go signal to play against the New England Patriots this Sunday.
Benjamin did not practice on Wednesday and he spent most of his time on the stationary bike as trainers continue to evaluate his left knee, but he was a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday, and Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said he should be in the team's starting lineup this Sunday — barring a setback, of course.
"He participated completely and looked good out there. He worked really hard on Monday and Tuesday trying to get some swelling out, Wednesday was a get-back-on-your-feet day, and today he really moved pretty well. We feel very fortunate for Kelvin," Rivera stated on Thursday, via the Panthers' official website.
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Benjamin injured his left knee at the end of the first quarter of their matchup against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday, and observers initially thought it was a serious injury because his leg actually bent back awkwardly after he was tackled by cornerback Kenny Crawley from behind.
There was a little bit of a scare because an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in the same knee had forced Benjamin to miss the entire 2015 season. Fortunately, his surgically repaired left knee didn't suffer any structural damage this time so he doesn't have to worry about missing a significant amount of games this season.
"It's funny because something (head athletic trainer) Ryan Vermillion thought of was, 'Wow, you had a non-contact injury a couple of years, and then here there's a contact injury where you get bent over, and you're fortunate to have nothing as far as structural damage,'" Rivera said.
"He's very fortunate," he added.
Benjamin has nine catches for 110 yards in three games this season and he will get plenty of chances to add to that tally against a struggling Patriots defense this Sunday.
