Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
On Friday, running back Stephen Davis was our player of honor in the countdown of top 100 Panthers. One day later, it’s his former partner in crime, DeShaun Foster. Serendipity.
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People forget that DeShaun Foster was actually born in Charlotte, coincidentally enough, but he grew up in California and went to college at UCLA. After a standout career there, the Panthers brought him home by making him the 32nd overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, his rookie season ended before it even got started, as a preseason injury took him out for the season.
He returned to back up Stephen Davis for his second year, and while his contributions over the course of the season were modest, he was responsible for two of the most memorable plays in Panthers history during their playoff run. First, he broke free from six different Eagles defenders for a two yard touchdown in the NFC Championship game. Then, in the Super Bowl, he broke free for a 35 yard touchdown run that ended with an iconic dive over the goal line that spurred a comeback in a truly unhinged fourth quarter.
The injury issues that popped up upon Foster’s entry to the league returned to plague him for much of the rest of his career. He missed the majority of his third season with a broken collarbone. He made it through his fourth season largely in good health, and even supplanted Stephen Davis as the team’s starter by season’s end, but he broke his ankle in the playoffs. His effectiveness began to wane after that, and he gradually ceded more of his workload to the newly drafted DeAngelo Williams over his final two seasons in Carolina. He got a cup of coffee in San Francisco to wrap up his career.
When all was said and done, Foster amassed 3,336 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns across five seasons in Carolina. He never topped 1,000 yards in a season, but he amassed just under 900 yards in each of his last three seasons as a Panther, and he chipped in here and there as a receiver out of the backfield. The 3,336 yards are good for sixth in Panthers history. Between the stat compilation and the iconic moments in the playoffs, Foster earns himself spot number 43 on the top 100 Panthers of all time.
