Carolina Panthers starting cornerback Charles Tillman suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and is done for the season, according to the Panthers.com reporter Bran Strickland. Tillman came back from a partially torn ACL in the same knee two weeks ago, but he will now have to watch from the sidelines this postseason.
The veteran cornerback was in his 13th season in the league and will serve as a second coach for defensive backs this postseason. "He's been a veteran leader and has really helped our guys out, and he's going to be around," said head coach Ron Rivera, via the Panthers' team website. "It's too bad. The guy has done some good things for us. He knew exactly what the risks were, but he wanted to play."
Tillman recorded 55 combined tackles and two interceptions in his first season in Carolina, and the NFL's sixth best defense will need to step it up in the postseason in his absence. The Panthers clinched the first seed in the NFC playoff picture and will await the lowest winning seed from the Wild Card round.
Star linebacker Luke Kuechly leads the Panthers in tackles again this season and will need to be a leader on the field if Carolina wants to make a deep postseason run. The Panthers signed cornerback Robert McClain in December, and he stepped up during Tillman's absence this past weekend with seven combined tackles and an interception. The Panthers have almost two weeks to prepare for their divisional round matchup, and Rivera will look for his defense to play its best football despite the loss of Tillman.
