Torn ACL ends season for Carolina Panthers CB Charles Tillman

The Carolina Panthers’ “next-man-up” approach to injuries will get a serious test in its secondary.

An MRI on Monday confirmed the team’s concerns about Charles Tillman: The veteran cornerback has a torn ACL in his right knee, an injury that will end Tillman’s season and might end his career.

Tillman partially tore the ligament against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 15 and missed the next four games. After second-year corner Bené Benwikere broke a bone in his leg, Tillman returned and started the past three games.

But Tillman re-injured the knee Sunday without contact on the fourth play of the second half of a 38-10 victory over Tampa Bay.

The injuries to Benwikere and Tillman mean the Panthers will head into the playoffs with two starting corners who weren’t on the roster on Thanksgiving – Cortland Finnegan, who came out of semi-retirement on Nov. 30, and Robert McClain, who was signed Dec. 15 after Benwikere was hurt.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said McClain would replace Tillman on the outside, with Finnegan continuing to line up inside against the slot receiver.

“It’s too bad. The guy’s done some good things for us,” Rivera said of Tillman. “But he’s going to be around. He’ll be a part of what we do, hopefully.”

Tillman signed a one-year deal with the Panthers last offseason after spending his first 12 seasons with Chicago. Tillman turns 35 in February, but Rivera said he didn’t want to speculate on Tillman’s future.

Tillman’s past three seasons have been shortened by injuries. He tore his triceps muscle his last two years with Chicago.

Playing with an already compromised ligament was a risk Tillman was willing to take, Rivera said.

“That’s what type of guy he is,” defensive end Charles Johnson said. “We were fortunate to have him.”

Tillman, who played in Super Bowl XLI with the Bears, has been vying to become the first player in NFL history with at least 40 forced fumbles (43) and 40 interceptions. His two picks for the Panthers give him 38 for his career.

One of Tillman’s best games came against the Giants, his first one back after his monthlong absence. He intercepted an Eli Manning pass in the end zone and also forced a fumble with his trademark “Peanut punch,” then recovered it.

“Huge loss. He was a huge, veteran presence in our secondary,” defensive tackle Dwan Edwards said. “He was a turnover (and) forced fumble machine out there. Guys really want to get to the ball because they know there’s an opportunity the ball will be on the ground.

“We’ll miss Peanut, and someone else will move up, and we’ll move on. Next man up.”

It appears that next man will be McClain, who stepped in for Tillman against the Bucs and finished with seven tackles and an interception of Jameis Winston. McClain began his career with the Panthers as a seventh-round pick in 2010, when Carolina finished 2-14 in John Fox’s final season.

McClain started parts of three seasons for the Falcons, but was out of football after the Patriots cut him after training camp in August. McClain and Finnegan worked out for the Panthers (along with Bradley Fletcher) in November after Tillman injured his knee against the Titans.

“We felt they both had a skill set that we liked,” Rivera said. “We felt Cortland would fit in very nicely for the nickel position, which he has. We felt down the line if we had to bring a veteran guy in Robert would be that next guy, which he was.”

Finnegan said the Panthers didn’t miss a beat when McClain came in the game against Tampa Bay. But he still feels bad for Tillman.

“I know it hurts,” Finnegan said. “Any guy who isn’t going to be able to finish the season and such an impact player that he is, he’ll truly be missed.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Torn ACL ends season for Carolina Panthers CB Charles Tillman."