Jun 11th 2008 11:25AM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Panthers, NFC South, Charlotte, CarolinaLet’s face facts, folks — John Kasay was never going to play forever. Sure, the Carolina Panthers’ 39-year-old place kicker has won a ton of games for this team with his left foot, but as time goes on, his kicks don’t travel quite as far as they once did, and while some kickers have played well into their 40s in the NFL, those guys are few and far between.

The length of Kasay’s kicks is the main reason the Carolina Panthers plan to use someone new for kickoffs. Rhys Lloyd, an Englishman who specializes in booting the ball really, really far, did well in a one-game trial with Carolina last season, and he now has a chance to make the team’s final roster.

While it’s far from unprecedented for a team to carry three kickers on its roster, it’s not exactly business as usual. Still, Kasay had a league-low two touchbacks and watched five kickoffs sail out of bounds last season, so Lloyd almost seems like a necessity for Carolina. Field position is just that important for a team that prides itself on defense. Perhaps the only question is how much longer Kasay will be the last original Panther.