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Graham Gano 2017 Outlook
Statistically speaking, Gano had another productive season in 2016 -- his fourth as Carolina's full-time starter -- but a tough start and even tougher, albeit injury-related, finish prompted the Panthers to draft a kicker for the first time in franchise history. Seventh-rounder Harrison Butker, the leading scorer in Georgia Tech's 124-year football history and coming off a season in which he led the ACC in field goal percentage, will compete with Gano this summer. As the Charlotte Observer reported, Gano's 2016 season began with frustration, when he missed a 50-yard FG in the final seconds that would have won the Super Bowl 50 rematch in Denver. He recovered to put himself in position to record his highest FG percentage since 2013, but late in the season injury finally caught up with him. In the three games leading up to his Week 17 1 for 4 performance at Tampa Bay, Gano played with a broken bone in his plant foot -- an injury that had bothered him well before the bone snapped in half on a Week 14 kickoff against the Chargers. Gano had surgery in mid-January and has been medically cleared, but fantasy owners need to watch the competition this preseason before committing here.