Is kicker John Kasay bitter about the way his 16-year career with the Carolina Panthers suddenly ended two weeks ago?

If you want to know the answer in a single word, it's "No."

If you want to know it in 257 words, you absolutely must read Kasay's handwritten letter to Panthers fans.

Kasay dropped the letter to the fans off for me at The Charlotte Observer's security desk recently and asked in a separate cover letter to disseminate it to as many Panthers fans as I could.

I found both letters in my mailbox Monday - the first day I had been in the office in a week - and was touched at their sentiment. Kasay, the team's all-time leading scorer and last original Panthers player, takes the high road in his first public words following his release.

"I wanted to personally write this letter to every Carolina Panther fan," Kasay's letter begins in a neat, legible print. "Words cannot express how truly thankful my family and I are for the most wonderful 16 years of our lives. We came to the Panthers as a young family with a 3-month-old baby. We leave with 4 children, 2 of whom are in high school. In between, you have loved and cheered and blessed us way more than we ever deserved."

Kasay, 41, was replaced late last month as the Panthers' kicker. The Panthers hired Olindo Mare to both kick field goals and kick off - jobs that had been split among two people in 2010. Kasay was fired the same week and did not grant any interviews following the move. Panthers general manager Marty Hurney indicated at the time that Kasay had said he might like to kick in the NFL again for another team if the opportunity presented itself.

Kasay's thank-you letter - and he wrote only this one, his wife said, with the hope that the Observer would publish it in his own handwriting - does not address that scenario. It also does not address whether he is considering retirement. It's quite possible Kasay doesn't know what the 2011 season will hold for him.

Laura Kasay, John's wife, told me Tuesday: "For now, I think John just wants the letter to speak for itself. He has so much gratitude toward all Panther fans, and he just wants them to know that."

Kasay wrote me in the separate cover letter that he had not commented immediately after the Panthers made the move in an effort to sort through his own feelings.

"I have chosen to wait so I could accurately share how I felt about what happened," Kasay wrote me. "This letter communicates how I feel about being released and my time here in Charlotte. I hope this letter will be of some help to answer your questions. It certainly helped me to write it."

The two-page letter is quite Kasay-esque. He always was one to shoulder all blame when he missed a field-goal attempt but to talk at great length about the fine performance of his snapper and holder if he made one. It reads in part: "Thank you for your encouragement when I failed. Thank you for the celebrations when we won. And most of all, thank you for letting me leave with a treasure trove of memories that time cannot erase."

Kasay finished the 2010 season ranked seventh all-time in NFL history with 433 made field goals and eighth all-time with 1,823 points scored. He made 11 game-winning field goals with the Panthers and 82 percent of the field goals he attempted over a 20-year career. Among Panthers fans, he was known for sometimes signing autographs for hours at training camp.

While Kasay's career with the Panthers has ended, he said in the letter he hopes that the team's "greatest years in Panthers history are still to come. A franchise decorated with numerous Lombardi Trophies. Dozens of Hall of Fame players. And a region that swells with pride whenever they speak of their beloved Panthers."

Deeply religious, Kasay signs off by wishing blessings on fans. "I pray that this will be a wonderful season and we will all get to watch the Panthers return to their rightful place as one of the most feared teams in the NFL," he wrote.

The man doesn't seem to have room for bitterness.

For grace, though? Kasay has plenty of room for that.

FULL TEXT OF JOHN KASAY'S LETTER TO FANS

Dear Panther fans,

I wanted to personally write this letter to every Carolina Panther fan. Words cannot express how truly thankful my family and I are for the most wonderful 16 years of our lives.

We came to the Panthers as a young family with a 3-month-old baby. We leave with 4 children, 2 of whom are in high school. In between, you have loved and cheered and blessed us way more than we ever deserved. The only thing I could offer in return was the promise that I would try my best, every day, to make you proud.

Thank you for your encouragement when I failed. Thank you for the celebrations when we won. And most of all, thank you for letting me leave with a treasure trove of memories that time cannot erase.

It is my hope that the greatest years in Panthers history are still to come. A franchise decorated with numerous Lombardi Trophies. Dozens of Hall of Fame players. And a region that swells with pride whenever they speak of their beloved Panthers.

It has been a tremendous privilege to live in Charlotte, to play for the Carolina Panthers, and to be able to share my lifelong dream of playing in the NFL with all of you.

I pray that this will be a wonderful season and we will all get to watch the Panthers return to their rightful place as one of the most feared teams in the NFL.

May God bless you. Thank you again for the memories.

Blessings,

John Kasay