Panthers Release K John Kasay, the Last Original Panther

by Jaxon on Jul 30, 2011 12:20 AM EDT in Panther News & Notes

We knew this day would come some day, we just didn't think it would be now. The Panthers have cut ties with K John Kasay, the last player remaining from the original 1995 Panthers team:

"John has been solid and dependable and has been a core part of the community, and it's an extremely difficult decision," Hurney said. "But we just thought that with the combination of increased emphasis on kickoffs and the ability to more than likely have two kickers on the roster, a kicker and a punter, we felt like that was the best move to make."

This move was expected after the Panthers signed K Olindo Mare. Signing Mare represented a chance to save a roster spot after the kick off line was moved up 5 yards. Mare has some big shoes to fill and will be in the unfortunate situation of getting booed for any and every FG miss he makes. I'm sure we'll have more on Kasay in the next few days.

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It's a shame but you're right, Mare will feel the brunt of the fans anger over Kasay.

Official member of the 2011 Panthers Mafia

by MrBernz on Jul 30, 2011 12:37 AM EDT reply actions

Mare won't miss enough to get boo'd

He’s solid, unless you have a lot more wind than the Puget Sound…You will like Mare, even if booting it through the ‘posts on a kickoff doesn’t mean jack this year.

For my entire life, our emerald city was set in the finest gold ring, upon a royal purple standard of excellence. The best will stumble, but the elite will always rise again.

by S_o_Smith on Jul 30, 2011 12:39 AM EDT reply actions

One last thought. Mare is a hometown guy now.

He’s probably been waiting since ‘95, or whenever North and South technically met in a jungle somewhere and hunted gamecocks together by starlight, to kick brown eggs at his farm and get paid millions to do it. He’s a honest guy and I personally wish him the best, even though Seattle will suffer. Just remember this: Jim Mora publically threw him under the bus, and he only responded with this.

For my entire life, our emerald city was set in the finest gold ring, upon a royal purple standard of excellence. The best will stumble, but the elite will always rise again.

by S_o_Smith on Jul 30, 2011 1:23 AM EDT reply actions

I have to say...

Mare’s response was awesome (and Mora’s comments were comments a coach should never make). Thanks for sharing those links. =)

The guy is replacing a living legend of the Panthers franchise, so he’ll have a lot to live up to. But I do think that Mare will be good for us, and I’m glad he gets to play with the hometown team.

"One play can win a game, but one play cannot lose a game." - Coach Peterson, Boise St.

"When you get into coaching, you strive to be a Super Bowl-winning head coach. That’s what my goal is, to come here and become a Super Bowl-winning head coach and to sustain an atmosphere of winning." - Ron Rivera

by jamiedk on Jul 30, 2011 3:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah I'd read somewhere that he's been living in Mooresville the last 5 years...

Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing you will be an idiot in the future and common sense is knowing you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

I don't always dress like a pirate...but when I do, I do it in this picture.

by Vagus on Jul 31, 2011 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions

This is copied-and-pasted from my comment in the FanShot from earlier...

I somehow managed to overlook the FanPost on the front page at first, and wanted to post the same comment here…

I’m very excited that we were able to retain the FAs we wanted to, and I think that it is good for the team and Cam that the ever-so-mercurial Smitty (at least at the moment) has decided he wishes to remain a Panther…

But losing John Kasay sucks! I literally feel tears start welling up when I go to the team’s website or the CO’s website and I see the headlines.

JR & Co. – Retire the #4 jersey! No one else will ever be able to embody what you want an organization to stand for better than John Kasay. In this case, #4 is more than just a number.

"One play can win a game, but one play cannot lose a game." - Coach Peterson, Boise St.

by jamiedk on Jul 30, 2011 3:49 AM EDT reply actions

hey jamie do u think kasay still wants to play or will retire?

if he plays a couple more years we prob won’t get a john kasay for while, he’ll be playing on sundays…

by revdwl34 on Jul 30, 2011 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions

I really don't know...

I think he still has a competitive streak in him. At the same time, I’m not sure if he’d want to uproot his family, and I’m not sure how many teams would want to have separate roster spots for a kicker and a kickoff specialist. As a field goal kicker, he’s about the best you can find. But again, there’s the issue of having to have two roster spots.

"One play can win a game, but one play cannot lose a game." - Coach Peterson, Boise St.

by jamiedk on Jul 30, 2011 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions

*John Kasay Day (retire jersery, etc)

always get nervous talkin with The Girl ; )

by revdwl34 on Jul 30, 2011 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions

The fact that so many people are talking about a KICKER lets you know JK's impact

I bet most of us don’t even have any idea who the best kickers in the league were last year, you usually don’t hear about kickers/punters unless they mess up…..(Matt Dodge…the Giants punter who kicked to D. Jackson last year).

The nice thing is that JK will be a legend in the Charlotte community if he decides to stay, much like Smitty will be.
I will miss JK but it was time to move on.

by Jonathan Riddle on Jul 30, 2011 8:54 AM EDT reply actions

Olindo Mare

I’m not trying to replace a legend, I just want to be myself

by rscott94 on Jul 30, 2011 2:51 PM EDT reply actions

so he reads CSR or he's simply aware of the situation he's entering?

by Floods on Jul 31, 2011 1:58 AM EDT up reply actions

He quite possibly may take the occasional peek at CSR...

Several players do. But most likely, he’s probably just aware of how much Kasay meant to the team – Kasay’s release has been covered pretty well by local media, and I’d assume that the news of his release would make waves with the other players. You can tell by the local media coverage how much he meant to the team and the fans.

On WFNZ, Frank Garcia (form Panther O-lineman) said that he couldn’t say a single bad thing about Kasay and that he thought Kasay deserved to have a building named after him.

"One play can win a game, but one play cannot lose a game." - Coach Peterson, Boise St.

by jamiedk on Jul 31, 2011 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions