Lewis Likely Out until Summer

Just over a month after injuring his rotator cuff in an intense game against the New York Giants (on Dec. 21), Carolina DT Damione Lewis has announced that he will likely be out of commission until at least June after enduring surgery on his shoulder recently. Lewis played through his shoulder injury in December (sitting out for the Panthers’ regular season finale against the New Orleans Saints but coming back for the playoffs) instead of undergoing surgery immediately after, and the delayed surgery could in part account for the long recovery Lewis is about to endure.

Lewis, an eight-year NFL veteran out of Miami, will be in recovery for several months, already expecting to miss the Panthers’ minicamp in May and a three-week “summer school” session in June, also missing  out on offseason training while recouping. The defensive tackle is a crucial part of the Carolina Panthers, having started 15 games for the team last season while also posting up 43 tackles, four sacks and one fumble recovery on the season. Lewis signed a contract extension with Carolina last year after the Panthers traded Kris Jenkins, who had started above Lewis in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

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