Panthers' Graham Gano: Won't require surgery

Gano said Monday that his sore left knee is feeling better since he was shut down earlier in December and relayed that he won't require offseason surgery to address the matter, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports.

Instead, Gano will simply treat the injury with rest and rehab, which should be all he needs to return at full strength for the Panthers' offseason program. Gano served as Carolina's kicker for the first 12 games before ceding those duties to Chandler Catanzaro, finishing with a 14-for-16 success rate on field-goal attempts and 30-for-33 mark on extra points. Under contract through 2021, Gano should retain the job so long as the knee doesn't prove to be an issue during training camp.