Panthers' Graham Gano: Medically cleared following foot surgery
Gano has been medically cleared after undergoing surgery on his heel this offseason, Bryan Strickland of Panthers.com reports. "It's really nice to be able to kick without pain," Gano said Wednesday.
Gano dealt with a nagging injury to a bone in the heel of his plant foot for a large portion of the 2016 campaign, and in Week 14, that very bone snapped in half while he attempted a kickoff. He managed to play through the pain for the remainder of the season, but went just 6-of-9 on field goals during the Panthers' final three games. The veteran kicker ultimately underwent surgery to fix the problem in January, and now that he's back to full heath, he'll need to show there are no lingering effects from the procedure in order to fend off seventh-round draft pick Harrison Butker for a roster spot.
