Michael Oher gets paid, Panthers teammates make ‘Blind Side’ jokes
Good for Michael Oher. The Carolina Panthers offensive tackle has found a home in the NFL, and he just extended his lease.
Oher has signed a three-year extension with the team worth $21.6 million over that stretch, with $9.5 million guaranteed. That’s nice money for a player who was good, not great with the Baltimore Ravens and who was released by the Tennessee Titans after one lousy year there. Last season, Oher settled in nicely with Cam Newton and Co. on what became a dynamic offense for the Super Bowl runners-up, even if he did struggle in the loss to the Denver Broncos.
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But Oher always, for better or for worse, will be the “Blind Side” guy. Even if you did not read the terrific book or watch the mostly crummy Sandra Bullock movie about Oher’s story, you’ve heard of it/them and, transitively, him. And that is almost always going to stick with Oher, no matter what else he does.
So naturally, his Panthers teammates — in a loving, joking way — had to razz him a bit about his new contract. And yes, they made a few references to the movie. (What, you wouldn’t?)
Pretty funny, right? And all in good fun, it appears. Part of what made this group so synergistic last season was the offensive line chemistry. No sense in changing that now.
Maybe that was one of the stipulations that Panthers GM Dave Gettleman, who isn’t exactly the most spendthrift guy ever, laid out before Oher could sign: “We’ll give you the money, but you have to put up with guff from the other four-fifths of the offensive line.” No word on whether the NFLPA would agree to such prerequisites, but Oher seems fine with all of it.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
