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Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikemefuna “Ickey” Ekwonu was carted off the field during the team’s Saturday, January 10, playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams after suffering a severe leg injury.
Ekwonu, 25, buckled under the rush of Rams rookie linebacker Josaiah Stewart during the first quarter, immediately grabbing his right leg.
Panthers quarterback, Bryce Young, motioned to the sideline that Ekwonu needed assistance.
While Ekwonu was being carted to the locker room, he pumped his fist in the air and gave a thumbs up to the crowd at Bank of America Stadium.
Shortly after the injury, Ekonwu was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Ekwonu, a graduate of NC State, was selected by the Panthers with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
In December, Ekwonu underwent an MRI after feeling discomfort in his knee during a game against the New Orleans Saints.
Ekwonu told reporters he knew something was wrong “before halftime.”
“I kind of knew something was up, I guess, like more like when it happened, but I mean, I guess the adrenaline definitely helped me kind of fight through those things,” he said at the time. “I got a job to do, and obviously, the decision to stay in the game was my decision overall, so I felt like I could go at that time. So, you know, I just pushed through it.”
Ekwonu was forced to miss the team’s next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but remained coy about the results of the MRI.
“I’m going to keep that sort of stuff in-house,” Ekwonu said. “But as I said before, I’m just treating myself day-to-day right now.”
Ekwonu further explained that it was a difficult decision to miss game time, but acknowledged he had the support of his locker room.
“The team knows and the guys in the locker room know that if I can be out there, I will,” Ekwonu said. “Obviously, the timing is always tough. I want to be out there for my teammates, the coaches, and everything. I just want to be out there representing the Panthers to the highest of my ability. So obviously disappointing, some of the timing and stuff, but it’s hard to stop that.”
Panthers head coach, Dave Canales, added at the time, “He was battling out there, and you can kind of sense there was some stuff going on. In the postgame evaluation and as you start doing tests on him, there’s something in there, there’s something going on with his knee, and so we had to make sure that we took care of him today.”
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A native of Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte, Ekonwu has often gushed about playing for his hometown team.
“Can’t even describe how good it feels to say Im coming home!” he posted via Instagram after being drafted. “Im ready to get to work in Charlotte.”
In the days leading up to the playoff game against the Rams, Carolina’s first postseason appearance since the 2017 season, Ekwonu acknowledged the magnitude of the moment.
“‘Dreams turn to things tangible’ ☁️🕊️,” he shared via Instagram on Tuesday, January 6.
