Tag: Johnny Hekker

New Panthers STC Tracy Smith praises his unit’s toughness

Panthers special teams coordinator Tracy Smith spoke about the toughness and spirit of his unit.

New Carolina Panthers special teams coordinator Tracy Smith hasn’t been around his guys long, but he already knows what he’s got to work with.

Smith, while in the fourth day of the offseason workout program, spoke with reporters earlier this afternoon. He was asked how he thinks he can build around the core group of special teamers in his first season for Carolina.

“A really tough group,” Smith said in describing the players. “Physical, fast, tough group. Met ’em throughout this week. And guys that care about the game. I’ve known Johnny Hekker on and off for years and years. Had some nightmare plays against Johnny—like 2012-ish, or ’13. JJ [Jansen]—every year that I’ve been in, he’s been in. So have some relationship with those guys, also a little bit with Eddy [Piñeiro] as well.

“But this was not an underperforming group. This is a good group of guys. Expect them to keep their level of intensity and play the same. And the spirit from all of them has been great.”

Smith was hired back on Feb. 8. He comes in with 15 years of NFL experience—with stops for the Seattle Seahawks, the Cleveland Browns, the San Francisco 49ers, the then-Oakland Raiders and the Houston Texans.

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Austin Corbett reacts to departure of OL coach James Campen

Panthers G Austin Corbett saluted his ole pal James Campen, who has reportedly been dismissed by the team.

Another well-respected coach is reportedly on the outs in Charlotte. And now, another team leader has reacted to the second gut punch.

As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on Friday, the Carolina Panthers will not be retaining offensive line coach James Campen going into the 2024 season. News of this departure quickly followed the reported exit of special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who also served as the team’s interim head coach for the final six games of the 2023 campaign.

Tabor’s departure was met by a pretty sad tweet from a seemingly disappointed Johnny Hekker. Then, right guard Austin Corbett, who spent the last two seasons with Campen, posted this shortly after:

Even before arriving in Carolina, Campen built up a rock-solid reputation across the league. Including his two seasons with the Panthers, the former offensive lineman has spent 20 years on the NFL sidelines.

Campen, like Tabor, will now be free to pursue other opportunities elsewhere.

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Johnny Hekker reacts to dismissal of ST coordinator Chris Tabor

Panthers P Johnny Hekker doesn’t seem to be feeling Friday’s news.

If Johnny Hekker is choppin’ wood in Charlotte come next season, it won’t be with Chris Tabor.

As first reported by ESPN senior NFL insider on Friday, the Carolina Panthers will not be retaining special teams coordinator Chris Tabor heading into 2024. Hekker, who spent the last two years punting for Tabor’s unit, reacted with this . . .

Tabor and Hekker both started their Panthers careers in 2022. Before even getting in a game with the four-time first-team All-Pro boot, Tabor said the following of Hekker:

“Well, I’ve played against him a bunch of times, and I’ve lost a lot of sleep playing against him. He’s a great athlete. Obviously, he’s been one of the best punters in the league. If you think about it and just look at him statistically, last year the Rams only had nine punts returned against them the entire year. Most teams you’re probably anywhere from the 35 to 40 range there. So just him taking away returners, punt location.”

Over their two seasons together, Hekker—who was already one of the most decorated punters in league history—averaged 47.6 yards per attempt with a net average of 43.3 yards. A well-documented trickster, Hekker also completed his only pass off a fake punt under Tabor.

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4 Panthers named alternates for 2024 Pro Bowl Games

The Panthers didn’t have a single player named to the NFC’s 2024 Pro Bowl Games squad. But they do have four alternates.

Unsurprisingly, the 2-14 Carolina Panthers did not have a single player named to the NFC Pro Bowl Games squad. But they do have a handful of understudies.

As announced on Wednesday night, four Panthers have been named alternates for this year’s all-star festivities—defensive tackle Derrick Brown, outside linebacker Brian Burns, punter Johnny Hekker and long snapper JJ Jansen.

Brown, who is a first alternate, may stand as one of the conference’s biggest snubs. The fourth-year wrecking ball currently leads all players at his position in run stop win rate (48 percent) and stops (48), and is only three takedowns away from setting a new single-season tackles record for a defensive lineman.

Interim head coach Chris Tabor spoke about Brown earlier today.

“Oh, I think he’s havin’ a heck of a year,” Tabor said. “What is he? Three tackles short of 100?  I mean, think about that. That position, and to have the opportunity to get over 100 tackles.

“I’ve said it for weeks—I don’t call him ‘DB,’ I call him ‘Pro Bowler.'”

Burns, a starter for the NFC in 2022 and 2023, is a second alternate while Hekker and Jansen are third alternates.

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Johnny Hekker hints at Panthers’ black helmets for Week 15

It looks like the Panthers are going dark in Week 15.

Are the Carolina Panthers going completely dark in Week 15?

Prior to the start of Wednesday’s practice, punter Johnny Hekker may have hinted towards the 2023 debut of the team’s popular black helmets. Darin Gantt of Panthers.com was right on hand with the potential scoop:

Carolina introduced the black caps last July, along with the accompanying black jersey and pants. The slick alternate uniform received rave reviews, from both fans and players alike.

The look came to life in Week 10 of the 2022, when the Panthers hosted the Atlanta Falcons for a Thursday night showdown. Apparently, the cats were looking and feeling good—as they ran over their NFC South foes en route to a 25-15 victory.

Hekker’s hint may not be just smoke, or a case of grabbing the wrong helmet on the way to the practice field. Not only are the Panthers slated to wear black tops for Sunday’s clash with the Falcons, but ESPN’s David Newton later nabbed this shot of running back Raheem Blackshear:

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Chris Tabor explains what happened on Johnny Hekker’s fumble

Panthers interim HC Chris Tabor doesn’t care about your fantasy team.

So, did the New Orleans Saints cause a blocked punt or a fumble of Johnny Hekker on Sunday? Whatever it was, it didn’t matter to Carolina Panthers interim head coach Chris Tabor.

In the second quarter of Week 14’s eventual 28-6 loss, the Panthers opened up the flood gates on Hekker—as linebacker Saints Nephi Sewell went untouched to the All-Pro punter. Sewell then blocked, or forced a fumble, on Hekker—giving way to an 8-yard return for a touchdown by Spartanburg native D’Marco Jackson.

Tabor, who is also still Carolina’s special teams coordinator, was asked about the play to kick off his postgame press conference.

“It was a blocked punt,” he said. “Man didn’t go out and block the guy like he was supposed to. So, that’s a mistake that obviously cannot happen.”

At first, the play was ruled as a blocked punt. But since Hekker never actually punted the ball, the league changed it to a fumble.

Either way, it was a bad result.

“To me, it’s a blocked punt,” Tabor later added. “It’s a blocked punt, they scored off it. However people wanna score it in fantasy football, it doesn’t matter to me. We made a mistake, didn’t do our job and that hurt us there.”

Well, hopefully all of your fantasy teams had a fine performance this week, regardless.

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WATCH: Nephi Sewell forces a Panthers fumble and it is returned for a TD

WATCH: Nephi Sewell forces a Panthers special teams fumble and D’Marco Jackson returns it for a big Saints touchdown

With Steve Gleason in the house, the New Orleans Saints come away with a blocked punt against the Carolina Panthers that was brought back for a touchdown.

Nephi Sewell ran through the Panthers special teams virtually unblocked and was able to get to Johnny Hekker in time for a loud block. Fellow young linebacker D’Marco Jackson was there to scoop up the ball and ran it in for the touchdown.

But it’s not going down in the stats sheet as a blocked punt. The NFL office reviewed the play and found that Hekker never actually kicked the ball, so it’s being recorded as a forced fumble, recovery, and return for a special teams touchdown. Either way, the points came as a sigh of relief on a day where neither offense had found consistent success.

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Chris Tabor on Johnny Hekker’s head butt: He is so passionate

Panthers ST coordinator Chris Tabor spoke about the many talents of P Johnny Hekker on Thursday.

Carolina Panthers punter Johnny Hekker may be a triple threat. He can kick, he can throw and he can head-butt.

Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor took some questions this afternoon, just a few days ahead of the team’s Week 8 matchup with the Houston Texans. He was asked about the dual-dimensional talent of Hekker, who nearly tossed for a first down on a fake punt in the Week 6 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

“You always gotta be aware of the skill set he has, and throwin’,” he said. “And just flippin’ it from myself playing against Hekker when he was with the Rams, it just makes you work on some other things because he is such a good thrower. I mean, in theory, he can really be like a third-string quarterback. You do see some different things, maybe at midfield or at certain down and distances. I think it’s just all part of it.

“But I wish we would’ve converted on that fake down in Miami. But I’m glad we gave it a shot there, and keep it goin’.'”

That shot saw Hekker, who carries a career passer rating of 84.2, connect with wideout Laviska Shenault Jr. for a 7-yard gain. Unfortunately, the Panthers were trying to convert on a fourth-and-8, so no dice.

Hekker would also grab some attention with his “head butt” of Dolphins linebacker Cameron Goode. Tabor was then asked if he’d ever had a punter complete a pass and a head butt in a single game.

“I haven’t,” he said. “That’s a first. That’s a first one. I will say this—the thing I love about him, he is so passionate and he’s such a competitor. I would never ever wanna change any of that with him.”

The contact to Goode resulted in an unnecessary roughness penalty on Hekker, one Tabor refused to touch.

“I’ll never go there, on any of the calls,” he replied with a laugh when asked about his thoughts on the flag. “Good try, but that won’t be answered.”

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Johnny Hekker not fined for Week 6 head butt of Dolphins LB Cameron Goode

Panthers P Johnny Hekker will not be fined for last week’s “head butt” of Dolphins LB Cameron Goode.

Johnny Hekker’s now-infamous “head butt” won’t result in a slap on the wrist.

As reported by Joe Person of The Athletic on Saturday afternoon, the NFL will not fine the Carolina Panthers punter for making contact with Miami Dolphins linebacker Cameron Goode last Sunday. The head butt in question came during the team’s Week 6 loss:

This is, obviously, great news for Hekker—who refused to even classify the bump as a head butt.

“It was not a head-butt,” he said with a laugh after the game. “There was no malintent. It was a moment where I was just walkin’ up and havin’ further conversation with the guy after the play. Got close, maybe got baited a little bit. And he flopped back and fell backwards and took the ref out in the process. The ref took offense to that, threw the flag.

“Put myself in a bad situation. Really, I gotta own that. It was nothing worth pursuing. The play was dead and over. There was no reason to go back after guys. It’s frustration in the moment and you gotta do like when you’re taught like a kid—just walk away. You just gotta walk away.”

Well, now he’ll be walking away without an expensive tab.

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Johnny Hekker refutes head butt of Cameron Goode: He sold it well

Panthers P Johnny Hekker went viral on Sunday for a “head butt” of Dolphins LB Cameron Goode. But he denies any ill intent.

And the Oscar goes to . . . Cameron Goode, linebacker, Miami Dolphins!

Sunday’s 42-21 loss for the Carolina Panthers featured many must-see moments—from Bryce Young’s fast and furious start to Tyreek Hill going out of his flippin’ mind. But punter Johnny Hekker’s head butt of Goode may have been the best highlight for many . . .

Here’s what Hekker said about it after the game:

“It was not a head butt,” he said with a laugh in the locker room. “There was no malintent. It was a moment where I was just walkin’ up and havin’ further conversation with the guy after the play. Got close, maybe got baited a little bit. And he flopped back and fell backwards and took the ref out in the process. The ref took offense to that, threw the flag.

“Put myself in a bad situation. Really, I gotta own that. It was nothing worth pursuing. The play was dead and over. There was no reason to go back after guys. It’s frustration in the moment and you gotta do like when you’re taught like a kid—just walk away. You just gotta walk away.”

Hekker was then asked if he and Goode touched helmets.

“Our face masks barely touched,” he replied. “The guy, I’m not sure if he practices that or how he sold it so well. But, legitimately, there was . . . I barely even noticed our helmets touched. I wish nothing ill against him. It is what it is. I put myself in that situation. I engaged with him in that way. Just embarrassed that I put the team in that kind of situation.”

Week 6 was a pretty eventful outing for Hekker. Along with the “not head-butt” that resulted in an unnecessary roughness penalty, the four-time All-Pro boot even got to show off his throwing arm on a fake punt in the first half—albeit an unsuccessful one.

So, unfortunately, the 12th-year veteran was the one ultimately getting faked out on the afternoon.

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