While it's still too early to know just what happened, footage of Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin's left leg injury, suffered during training camp practice on Wednesday against the Miami Dolphins, doesn't look promising.
Kelvin Benjamin goes down with an injury when running a route, doesn't look good. pic.twitter.com/e4VOTjEW5A
— Jeff Zell (@Jeff_Zell) August 19, 2015
Benjamin was eventually carted off the field with what SportsCenter intimated was a "left knee injury." While that may be slightly informed conjecture, the video above certainly looks like a scary one for Benjamin's prospects in 2015.
UPDATE 2, 5:50 PM: Benjamin has suffered a torn ACL, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
UPDATE 1, 11:20 AM: Panthers coach Ron Rivera said after practice that Benjamin suffered a "knee sprain" and would undergo an MRI.
Benjamin, the Panthers first-round pick out of Florida State University in the 2014 NFL Draft, provided ample reason for promise and significant impact for the Panthers in Year One, amassing 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. He was the most targeted rookie in the league last year and the seventh-most targeted player, per Zac Jackson of ProFootballTalk.com.
Benjamin, despite his immediate production, faced issues of weight and nagging hamstring injuries last year and while he was said to have reported to camp lighter this offseason, was still struggling with hamstring problems.
With Panthers quarterback Cam Newton looking to continue his development and make good on the whopping five-year, $103.8 million contract extension handed to him by the team this year, Benjamin's status is a major question mark in Carolina.
The team did draft big tight end/wide receiver Devin Funchess early in this past April's draft and it's likely the team will look to him to fill Benjamin's spot at or, at the very least, near, the top of the Panthers pass-catching depth chart.
