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Undrafted Panthers rookie QB Haynes King was star of Hall of Fame game

Haynes King is an NFL star.

That is, the Carolina Panthers undrafted rookie quarterback is an NFL star in early August after exactly one preseason game.

Sure, Thursday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame game between the Panthers and Arizona Cardinals was nothing more than a meaningless exhibition in which few, if any, actual starters played.

But NFL fans have been starving for any kind of action for almost six months, and King provided plenty of that during Carolina’s thrilling 33-30 victory in Canton, Ohio — especially on the final play of the game.

Even if his NFL career ends up going nowhere (more on that in a minute), the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year out of Georgia Tech will always have this spectacular, game-winning run for his highlight reel:

After former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis connected with receiver Bryson Green for a one-yard touchdown pass to give Arizona a 30-27 lead, King had 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining in regulation to lead the Panthers to a comeback win.

He completed four passes for 24 yards and also scrambled for 26 yards to help Carolina get to the Arizona five-yard line with two seconds left on the clock. Haynes took the shotgun snap at the 10 and dropped back to the 14 before shooting up the middle, pump faking around the seven and diving into the end zone for the game-winning score.

A massive end zone celebration ensued.

“I’ll tell you what, I couldn’t breathe,” King said afterward. “But it was amazing, just going out there and being able to celebrate with the guys that you’ve been OTAs, all training camp with, and busting your butt, and to finally go out there and celebrate with them and just showcase your talent is very fun.”

Franchise quarterback Bryce Young did not play. Veteran backup Kenny Pickett started the game and played three series before King took over. The 25-year-old rookie completed 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 39 yards with one touchdown on three carries.

“Haynes did a fantastic job,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said after the game, “just keeping the play alive, doing whatever he had to do, run it, throw it.”

After playing sparingly for three years at Texas A&M, King established himself as a dual threat at Georgia Tech over the last three seasons. During that time, King completed 67.6% of his passes for 7,907 yards with 55 touchdowns and 24 interceptions (including 16 during his first season with the Yellow Jackets). He also rushed for 2,277 yards and 36 touchdowns.

King performed well at the NFL scouting combine earlier this year, running the 40-yard dash in a blistering 4.46 seconds. Questions about his age and passing ability may have led teams to skip King during the draft in April, but the Panthers snatched him up in free agency immediately afterward.

Kurt Warner and Warren Moon were undrafted quarterbacks who eventually landed in the Hall of Fame. Tony Romo and Jeff Garcia did pretty well for themselves as well. Will King be able to beat the odds like those guys?

His chances of making Carolina’s 53-man roster improved greatly last month when veteran backup quarterback Will Grier announced his retirement, which bumped King up to No. 3 on the depth chart.

More performances like he had Thursday night certainly won’t hurt King’s cause either. Take a look at his run during the final drive:

Again, it’s only preseason … but, man, he was awesome.

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Former Titans star running back Chris Johnson reveals ALS diagnosis

Chris Johnson, the former NFL running back who holds the record for most yards from scrimmage in a single season, has the degenerative neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Johnson shared the diagnosis during an interview with Michael Strahan that aired Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The 40-year-old father of four spoke in his own voice but didn’t use his mouth — instead, he used his eyes to trigger a device that generated sentences based on recordings Johnson made soon after he was diagnosed last year.

“It’s continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined,” Johnson said of the disease. “I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body. Just over a year ago, I was picking up my 7-year-old daughter so she’d make a wish with her birthday cake. Today, I couldn’t do that.”

There is currently no known treatment that stops or reverses ALS, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and most people with disease die of respiratory failure within three to five years of noticing symptoms (although one in 10 survive a decade or more).

In addition to receiving the standard medication to help slow the disease’s progression, Johnson has been working with neurologist and leading ALS researcher Dr. Merit Cudkowicz. She told “Good Morning America” that Johnson has taken part in a clinical trial for a therapy “that decreases inflammation, and I think that helped him a lot.”

“At first, you’re in shock, then you realize you have two choices: You can give up, or you can fight,” Johnson said. “I chose to fight.”

Johnson’s wife Brittany told Strahan: “We’re still hopeful. We’re hopeful that a breakthrough will happen or … a miracle will happen.”

Selected by the Tennessee Titans at No. 24 in the 2008 draft, Johnson was an instant NFL star. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons and was named the league’s offensive player of the year in 2009. Also that season, Johnson led the NFL with 2,006 rushing yards — earning the nickname CJ2K as one of only nine players to have rushed for 2,000 or more yards in a season — and set a record with 2,509 yards from scrimmage that still stands.

Johnson rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his six seasons with the Titans, then spent a year with the New York Jets and three more with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring after the 2017 season. He finished with 9,651 yards and 55 touchdowns rushing and 2,255 yards and nine touchdowns receiving.

Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk released a statement Monday morning after Johnson’s diagnosis was revealed.

“Learning this news is extremely difficult, and we will support Chris every step of the way throughout his journey,” she wrote. “We are holding him and his family close, and join our fans around the world in expressing our love for Chris.”

The Jets and Cardinals also released statements expressing their support for Johnson.

While Johnson’s body will no longer allow him to perform a task like gripping a cup, he said he wants people to know that with ALS, “your mind stays sharp.”

“People sometimes look at the physical disability and assume you’re not still the same person inside,” Johnson said. “I still think the same. I still dream. I still love my family. My body just doesn’t cooperate.”

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