With the season opener only 11 days away, it’s not good for a team’s No. 1 wideout to be on crutches. But that’s exactly what’s happening, still, in Carolina.
Coach Ron Rivera said Tuesday receiver Steve Smith remains unable to put weight on the foot. The good news, per Rivera, is that the infection has “gotten much better.”
The lingering nature of the condition has created speculation that Smith may have had a staph infection. During the weekly Wednesday morning PFT visit with The Mac Attack on WFNZ in Charlotte, co-host Chris McClain said that he received an email from a Panthers source indicating that Smith did not have a staph infection.
It doesn’t change the fact that Smith remains on crutches, but the five-letter “s” word has acquired a stigma in football circles, fueled by the outbreak of staph infections several years ago in Cleveland.
According to our friends at WFNZ, it’s not a staph infection. Still, it’s unclear when Smith will be back to 100 percent.