A hamsting injury has limited Aaron Francisco during the preseason
Aaron Francisco was supposed to fill a needed role for the Carolina Panthers in the secondary and with their special teams. Instead, he mostly sits and watches on the sidelines while trying to overcome a nagging hamstring injury he suffered early in training camp.
Francisco has played in the last two Super Bowls, including being one of the defenders trying to wrestle Santonio Holmes out of the back of the end zone on the game-winning catch for Pittsburgh two years ago.
Francisco suffered a slight tear of his left hamstring on the sixth day of camp, and then re-injured it on the last day of camp when he was just about ready to resume practice.
Francisco is now faced with an uncertain future. All he can do is try to get healthy so he can appear in the final preseason game. He has already been ruled out of Saturday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
“I can definitely say it’s the most frustrated I’ve been in my career,” Francisco said. “To be out here on a new team trying to earn a job and then not being able to get on the field. Hopefully, I can get back soon enough, before the last preseason game.”
If he is unable to play, a spot on the roster may be in question. Without seeing any game-time, the coaches won’t know exactly what he is capable of.
“Yeah, I’m a little concerned,” Francisco said. “I haven’t been able to show the coaches what I can do. Normally, I can push through injuries, but it’s my first time having a hamstring injury. It’s the one thing you can’t push, or it will set you back even further.”
Coach John Fox of the Panthers acknowledged that Francisco needs some game experience.
“We got a pretty good look at him at OTA’s and minicamp,” Fox said. “But he’s got some catching up to do. Hopefully, he can do it in the next two weeks.”