Cornerback's Return Energizes Panthers' Defense
The Panthers received some much-needed help on defense tonight from a surprising and unexpected source. The man responsible? Cornerback Leonard Johnson. A fifth-year veteran out of Iowa State, Johnson, who made his season debut against the Cardinals playing nickel corner, returned from an Achilles injury to tally 8 tackles, a pass deflected, and a sack, sparking the team to a win.
The cornerback, who previously recorded an impressive stat line of 148 tackles, 21 pass deflections, 5 interceptions (2 for touchdowns), and 6 forced fumbles in 3 seasons with the Buccaneers, had just begun practicing with the team during the bye week and wasn't even listed on the roster card after being activated from the non-football injury list Friday. Despite this, he was arguably the team's most valuable player on defense, bringing some much needed energy on blitzes (a second sack was negated by an unnecessary roughness penalty) and confidence as a veteran corner helping out a very young and struggling secondary.
He also put any concerns about his endurance to rest, breaking up a critical two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to maintain the two-score margin and put an end to a Cardinals comeback.
Johnson's return provides an underrated boost to the team's pass defense, and he should be a mainstay on defense going forward. Welcome back, Leonard.
