Buckner, Short, Smart will be missed

The Carolina Panthers' roster won't be the same next season and neither will the locker room.

Defensive tackle Brentson Buckner is a funny, smart and sage guy who always had something to say. And it was never, "We take them one game at a time," "There is no tomorrow," or "It is what it is." Nothing to write? Walk up to Brentson, turn on the tape recorder and a column appears. Brentson played at Clemson for Danny Ford, whom he loves. I also am a huge Ford fan, and I'll miss talking to Brentson about Danny.

Also absent will be linebacker Brandon Short, the political conscience of the locker room. You had to be informed if you were going to talk politics with Short, because he was. Short is so well-read and so bright. He'd engage in debates with a variety of teammates, foremost among them Mike Minter. If Short couldn't find somebody to debate, he would debate the mirror, a helmet, the wall. And he'd win those, too.

If Buckner wasn't the funniest guy on the team, Rod Smart was. You could ask Smart, whom the Panthers also released, what time it was and he'd say it was time to admit that he was the fastest player in the NFL. Before a big game, he might run naked, save for a strange hat, from one end of the locker room to the other. And formerly tense players would crack up.

All three players are victims of the salary cap. The salary cap has helped make the game great. But it has a dark side. The loss of Buckner, Short and Smart is the dark side.

Comments

[Murphy]

Tom - Your column is right on the money. Those guys will be missed by their teammates and their fans. I notice you didn't mention Davis as well. Why was that?