Panthers’ Receiver Funchess And Rookie Cornerback Worley Fight At Practice

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Receiver Devin Funchess and rookie cornerback Daryl Worley were involved in a skirmish today at practice.

The Carolina Panthers invited recently retired cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman to work with the defensive backs on his patented “Peanut punch”.  The “Peanut punch” is Tillman’s method of dislodging the football from a ball carrier, while also tackling the opponent.

Apparently rookie cornerback Daryl Worley attempted the technique while tackling Devin Funchess and accidentally punched Funchess in the neck.  An altercation followed and the two players wound up wrestling on the ground.

Once the pair eventually stood up, Funchess would not relinquish his grasp on Worley’s facemask as Defensive Coordinator Sean McDermott attempted to separate them, which led McDermott to voice his displeasure with Funchess’ actions.

Head Coach Ron Rivera didn’t seem bothered by the incident, but did let both players know that they need to keep their emotions in check.

“It’s just Devin understanding that the young guy’s trying to do something,” Rivera said. “It’s really one of those things that the guys have to (understand), hey, it’s part of football. It’s going to happen out there.”

“Because in the game it’s going to be the same thing and you can’t lose your composure because you don’t want to get a flag, you don’t want to get tossed,” he added. “We don’t want to lose a good player because of a play like that.”