If Johnny Hekker is choppin’ wood in Charlotte come next season, it won’t be with Chris Tabor.
As first reported by ESPN senior NFL insider on Friday, the Carolina Panthers will not be retaining special teams coordinator Chris Tabor heading into 2024. Hekker, who spent the last two years punting for Tabor’s unit, reacted with this . . .
https://t.co/aXW2VP9V3G pic.twitter.com/B09sKAWOY4
— Johnny Hekker (@JHekker) January 26, 2024
Tabor and Hekker both started their Panthers careers in 2022. Before even getting in a game with the four-time first-team All-Pro boot, Tabor said the following of Hekker:
“Well, I’ve played against him a bunch of times, and I’ve lost a lot of sleep playing against him. He’s a great athlete. Obviously, he’s been one of the best punters in the league. If you think about it and just look at him statistically, last year the Rams only had nine punts returned against them the entire year. Most teams you’re probably anywhere from the 35 to 40 range there. So just him taking away returners, punt location.”
Over their two seasons together, Hekker—who was already one of the most decorated punters in league history—averaged 47.6 yards per attempt with a net average of 43.3 yards. A well-documented trickster, Hekker also completed his only pass off a fake punt under Tabor.
