Carolina Panthers cornerback CJ Henderson got a bit burnt in Week 17’s searing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And apparently, he did some burning of his own right afterwards.
Despite being told by the team that Henderson would be available for questions following the 30-24 defeat, the third-year defender made an early exit from the locker room on Sunday evening.
We were told by Panthers PR that CJ Henderson would speak to us after today’s game, but he just walked by like we weren’t there.
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) January 1, 2023
Henderson was on the bitter end of a pair of touchdowns by Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans—one for 57 yards and the other for 30. Evans finished the afternoon with three total scores and 204 receiving yards—the second-highest mark of his fantastic nine-year career.
But fellow starting corner Keith Taylor Jr., who allowed the first tuddy to four-time Pro Bowl pass catcher, did speak.
“He [Evans] just got me,” he said. “I mean, he just got me—straight up.”
Evans got Taylor Jr. for a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter, which pulled the Bucs within a touchdown right before the two-minute warning.
This was, obviously, a really tough result to swallow for everyone involved—for Henderson, for Taylor Jr. and for the rest of the squad. And even with the Panthers now eliminated from playoff contention, hopefully this’ll get chalked up as a learning experience in closing out a wild 2022 season.
