Panthers WR Steve L Smith played through a quad pull, a left leg injury and a rolled ankle for much of the season but never mentioned it — not even to the training staff, until they could tell something was not right.
"They were like, 'What's going on? You're limping.' It just kind of spiraled from there," he said. "Did I lose a step? Anyone would lose a step when you're playing on one leg. I just tried to play through it, and ultimately I looked slow. Instead of 31 (years old), I looked 41. Instead of coming out and gathering myself and taking a backseat, I tried to play through it — and it backfired
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