CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Now that the Carolina Panthers have placed Michael Oher on injured reserve with a concussion, whether the left tackle will play beyond this season becomes the question.
Carolina in June signed Oher to a three-year, $21.6 million extension through the 2019 season. He is scheduled to count $5.5 million against the 2017 salary cap, $7.3 million in 2018 and $7.4 million in 2019.
Oher indicated midway through this seven-game stretch of being on the inactive list that his goal was not to walk away from football.
The subject of the 2009 movie "The Blind Side" posted the following message on Instagram after reading a story on ESPN.com addressing speculation that the concussion might lead him to retire:
Recovering from the concussion is the first priority for Oher. The Panthers felt strongly enough about what he might be able to contribute to a late-season run that they kept him on the 53-man roster longer than most.
They ultimately were forced to place Oher on IR, in part because they needed the roster spots because of other injuries and in part because with six games remaining and no timetable for a return conditioning became a factor.
"We did everything we could," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said on Friday. “We tried to be with him and help him out as much as we could. It’s tough. It’s just one of those things. The further along you go, the tougher it’s going to be to get him back in shape."
Rivera said Oher remains in Charlotte while recovering. He didn’t offer much beyond that because of restrictions in what he can say about a player in the concussion protocol.
That the Panthers kept Oher on the roster this long would indicate they would like for him to be a part of the team moving forward if and when the concussion heals.
Oher was the 17th-highest-paid left tackle at $7.2 million a year, so the Panthers had him for a bargain. The average of those in the top 10 is more than $11 million a year.
But for now the Panthers had to make a move, which for Oher may have been the best thing.
"This takes pressure off everything," Rivera said. “We’re not worried about it. We just want to see the young man get healthy."
