With NFL teams having trimmed down to 53 players over the weekend, the Carolina Panthers still have two kickers on their roster. Ideally, that will not be the case at the start of the regular season. But if the Panthers can’t trade either veteran Graham Gano or rookie Harrison Butker, they are prepared to keep both.
On Sunday, Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said Gano will start next weekend and Butker will remain on the active roster as a backup if neither is traded.
Hurney says Graham Gano would start Sun if 2 kickers still on roster.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) September 3, 2017
Keeping two place-kickers on a 53-man roster is not unheard of, but usually one of the two is a kickoff specialist and the other kicks field goals. Hurney said that is not the case with Gano and Hurney.
Gano has struggled with longer kicks and was terrible when Carolina got off to a slow start last season. The Panthers want to get something in return for one of the two, but they may have to eventually decide if they want to stick with the veteran or trust a rookie who has been impressive all summer. Keeping two kickers seems like a waste of a roster spot for a team that is trying to erase the leftover stench from 2016.
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