Tyler Gaffney's first NFL season is over before it even started.
The sixth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers suffered a knee injury that requires surgery and will miss the season, coach Ron Rivera announced Saturday.
The Stanford product was expected to add youth to a veteran backfield that badly needs it. Gaffney possesses great size for the position at 5-foot-11, 220, and impressed in his senior season, rushing for 1,709 yards and 21 TDs.
Gaffney was slated to compete with 2013 sixth-round pick Kenjon Barner for snaps behind DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Stewart is already injured and could miss two to four weeks. Those extra snaps likely are now headed to Fozzy Whittaker.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that the Panthers signed the running back and kick returner to replace Gaffney, per a source informed of the organization's plans.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" offers up team-by-team training camp previews of the NFC East and NFC West.