There were some hard feels on both sides when the Carolina Panthers released Steve Smith in 2014. Five years later, it appears they have put aside their differences with the Panthers enshrining Smith into their Hall of Fame.
“It’s good to be back.”https://t.co/b6qfPIIBAr
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) May 6, 2019
Smith will be introduced into the team's Hall of Fame, called the Hall of Honor, along with quarterback Jake Delhomme, tight end Wesley Walls and offensive tackle Jordan Gross.
“It's good to be back,” Smith told the team. “There's very few things in my life that really make me emotional to where I want to tear up.That penetrates a place I generally don't go.”
After being released by the Panthers, he made it clear when he came back to play the team he was going to make them pay for it. During the 2014 season he played against the Panthers with the Baltimore Ravens and racked up seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
It's still exactly unclear why the team decided to release Smith, but one of the reasons could have been the way he bumped heads with quarterback Cam Newton.
“We bumped heads for the obvious reasons,” Smith said. “He's the first pick and he was a star where he was. I was 31 years old. I had three kids. So we were two different people in two different phases of their life.”
During his career with the Panthers Smith put up 836 catches for 12,197 yards and 81 touchdowns. There is no doubt with those stats he deserves to be in Carolina's Hall of Honor, and it's good to see Smith get the honor.
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