Panthers receiver carted off field with concussion; player who delivered hit cut

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Carolina Panthers wide receiver Keith Kirkwood was hit in the neck area during practice Tuesday, carted off the field and taken away in an ambulance.

Kirkwood was hit from behind by safety J.T. Ibe, who was immediately thrown off the field and then waived moments after practice, the team’s first with pads.

Practice was halted for 10 minutes.

Kirkwood was carted off the field — with several teammates and a handful of fans clapping as he heads off with the training staff.

A tangible energy shift on the practice field. The team huddling up now.
— DaShawn Brown (@DaShawnWSOC9) August 3, 2021

The athletic training and medical staff worked quickly to stabilize Kirkwood, who was placed on a backboard and taken to a nearby ambulance.

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Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said the indications he had shortly after practice were positive, and that Kirkwood had movement in his extremities and no pain in his neck area.

“We’ll wait to see after he’s looked at exactly what it is; that was the early signs,” Rhule said.

NEW: We’ve just learned the #Panthers waived J.T. Ibe — the safety responsible for the hit on WR Keith Kirkwood.

Kirkwood was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but we’re told he was able to move his arms and legs #NFL
— DaShawn Brown (@DaShawnWSOC9) August 3, 2021

Rhule then briefly spoke about the hit.

“It’s completely unacceptable to do something like that,” he said. “You can’t tee off on somebody, so its not what we’ll do -- it’s undisciplined by us.”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Rhule said. “Anytime a player gets hurt it bothers me, whether it’s something like that or a guy pulls his hamstring. I just recognize how much work these guys put in and how important this time is for them. Everybody, whether it’s a guy like Keith I coached in college or a guy that just got here a week ago.”

Panthers player Keith Kirkwood carted off field Wide receiver Keith Kirkwood is attended to by medical personnel after a hard hit Tuesday during practice. (Chanelle Smith-Walker/panthers.com)

“As a man, as a person I don’t like seeing anyone laying there in pain or hurting or just missing reps or battling through it. I can’t stand those things. But injuries do happen in football. But it’s important to me that when our players do get banged up . . . they know their value to me and us is not just what they do on the field. We care about who they are.”

Kirkwood was later released from the hospital, and has been diagnosed with a concussion

Kirkwood twice broke his clavicle last season and was limited to one catch for 13 yards in one regular season game. He played his first two seasons for the New Orleans Saints.

After the hit, Rhule spoke to several players about whether or not to continue practice, and while they were clearly shaken by what they saw, they pressed on.

“Yeah, he came to a few of us, asked what the mood was like, if we wanted to keep practicing,” quarterback Sam Darnold told panthers.com. “It was kind of a weird mood for sure, but I think the right decision was to give us a couple of minutes, we had a little break there, and move on and keep practicing.”

Ibe spent four seasons at Rice and two seasons at South Carolina and was trying to make the Panthers roster as an undrafted free agent. He signed with Carolina in April.

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