Linebacker Davis prepares for knee surgery, hopes to stay with Panthers

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- Instead of the Miami Dolphins, injured Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis said Wednesday he's preparing for knee surgery, and his future.

But the hope is the 26-year-old linebacker will be better than ever next summer, after the procedure to repair his torn right anterior cruciate ligament, which will take place on Nov. 30. Davis' game is built on his speed — he's faster than some of the defensive backs in Charlotte — but he said he's not worried about that diminishing after the procedure.

Davis blew out his knee on a non-contact play in New Orleans, which he described as “a fluke accident.”

“I will come back stronger than I was,” Davis said. “That is truly how I feel in my heart. And I'm going to do the things it takes to come back stronger.

“Everybody I have know that has torn their ACL, from college to the pros, has come back stronger. I know I won't be any different. I will put all of the work in I need to put in.”

That's good news for the Panthers, who can thank the new language of the labor agreement with retaining Davis at least one more year at a relatively cheap price.

Since he has five years in the league, Davis would have been an unrestricted free agent under the old labor terms. But since 2010 is scheduled to be an uncapped year, the requirement for free agency shot up to six years, leaving Davis (along with cornerback Richard Marshall, tight end Jeff King and others) restricted free agents.

So instead of trying to sign Davis to a long-term deal averaging more than $7 million a year (and probably closer to $8 million), the Panthers can retain his rights next year for much less. Even the highest RFA tender next year (which would bring back first- and third-round picks in compensation) will be around $3 million, making him a relative bargain.

The Panthers always have been proactive about re-signing their own draft picks and probably would have with Davis if the labor situation was different. His status, combined with the large number on Julius Peppers' franchise tag, kept them from talking to his agent about an extension this past offseason.

“One can only hope (there's a long-term deal),” Davis said. “This is where I want to spend the rest of my career, and I'm very content being a Carolina Panther. With the CBA the way it is and the possibility of it going to an uncapped year, the team has the right to place a tender on me. It's understandable. It's business, and it's part of this game. I'm not disappointed in it, but like any player I would like to be signed to a long-term deal and finish my career here.”

His case underscores the dilemma players are in as the union tries to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with owners. While some initially thought an uncapped year would be a windfall, it's becoming clearer by the day that such is not the case.

“I'm not going to sit here and say I'd like to see us go into an uncapped year,” Davis said. “Because that's not going to benefit me for us to go to an uncapped year.”

INJURY UPDATE — The Panthers likely are to be without defensive end Charles Johnson tonight, after he was listed as doubtful on the injury report submitted to the league.

Johnson hasn't practiced all week because of a pectoral muscle problem. That takes away their top backup end but also a guy who was becoming a force rushing from inside on passing downs. He's second on the team with 3.0 sacks this year.

Johnson actually started last week's game against Atlanta and played most of the running downs, since the Panthers were saving Peppers for passing downs only because of a broken right hand. But coach John Fox said it was a “possibility” that Peppers should be available for more run duty this week.

Fullback Brad Hoover and safety Charles Godfrey are listed as doubtful, but there's no doubt they won't play.

Running back DeAngelo Williams is listed as questionable after taking Wednesday off to rest a sore knee, though team officials don't seem terribly concerned about his availability. Defensive tackle Damione Lewis (shoulder) and running back Jonathan Stewart (Achilles) were listed as questionable, but both practiced Wednesday.

For the Dolphins, running back Ronnie Brown and tight end Anthony Fasano are listed as out, along with nose tackle Paul Soliai and linebacker Erik Walden.

SHORT WEEK OVER — The Panthers' practice week was nearly a wash. They didn't practice in pads at all, as Wednesday's work was closer to the tempo of a Friday walk-through, even though it was regular length. Tuesday's work (on the players' typical day off) was a light day as well.

Fox said he's tried to balance preparing his team with getting them physically recovered from last week, considering they were banged up to begin with.

“A lot of times your weekly schedule, regardless of whether it's following a Monday night game or you've got a Saturday night game or a Sunday night game, you try to know where your team is,” Fox said. “You kind of tweak your schedule to make sure you've got enough guys to practice and yet you practice enough to where you know what you're doing and yet still be fresh enough to play. I think so much of it is where your team is at that point in time and how you handle your team for that time.”