Last night, the Broncos defeated the Panthers in the 2016-17 NFL debut. What got lost in the Panther’s loss was the monster performance of Andy Lee. During the game, Andy Lee set the Panthers record with a 76 yard punt. And I don’t mean a 40 yard punt with lucky bouncing – a solid 76 yard punt in the air. Granted it was in Denver, but still not many punters can do that. He averaged a solid 63 yards per punt for the game.
Andy Lee was recently acquired by the Panthers in a trade with the Browns. For Kasey Redfern (a rookie punter) and a 2018 4th Round pick, the Panthers acquired Lee and a 2017 7th Round pick. Lee is a 3x Pro-Bowler, 3x All-Pro first team and 1x All-Pro second team punter, who hasn’t missed a game in his entire 12-year career.
The crazy part about this trade is that the Browns were rumored to become disenchanted with Lee after he failed to attempt a tackle on a punt in the PRESEASON! Honestly, I don’t want my difference making punter getting injured making a tackle in the preseason.
Andy Lee is not interested in making tackles. pic.twitter.com/MWXsUkHtzw
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) August 27, 2016
In the NFL field position is huge and having a game changing punter can only help the Panthers in their quest for a Super Bowl.
[Image Credit: CharlotteObserver.com]
