Well, the "Peanut Punch" may be gone, but Charles Tillman's influence on the Panthers' stellar defense did not go unnoticed. He unselfishly taught each of his defensive teammates his patented technique and it was henceforth dubbed "The Panther Punch". Aside from his single season affiliation with the Carolina Panthers organization, Charles Tillman had one hell of a career. He was a second round pick for the Chicago Bears in 2003 and helped the Bears organization become a feared, defensively solid team for 12 seasons that was always in the playoff hunt and a Super Bowl contender as well. During those 12 seasons he was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and a First Team All-Pro selection. He also won the coveted Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2013 for his charitable contributions off the field.
Then the injury bug came crawling along.
After missing most of the 2014 season for Chicago because of an injury, he was released by the Bears. Tillman signed with the Panthers where he had an impact no one expected. He was immediately named the Panthers' starter opposite an unproven but talented Josh Norman who was a first year starter, but a fourth year player. He helped Norman develop into his widely known persona "J-No" who single-handedly won two close games for us against the Buccaneers and the Jaguars at the beginning of the 2015 season. Under Tillman's tutelage, Norman went on to get his first Pro Bowl selection and First Team All-Pro selection. "Peanut" started 12 games of the season but was plagued with an ACL strain that took him out in week 10. He came back to play for the last 3 games of the 2015 season only to tear the already strained ACL completely and sit on the sidelines for the remainder of the year.
Charles "Peanut" Tillman announced his retirement from football late Monday, July 18th, 2016 via Twitter @peanuttillman. During his career, he recorded 44 forced fumbles with his "Peanut Punch" technique, 12 fumble recoveries, 911 total tackles, 38 interceptions, 126 pass deflections, 3 sacks and 8 defensive touchdowns. Last season with the Panthers he had 55 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 7 pass deflections and 1 fumble recovery.
Although he was only with the Carolina Panthers' organization for one season, it feels like a Thomas Davis type of figurehead has left Panther Nation. Almost as if someone that has been here for their entire career had to retire. That should tell you all you need to know about his character, his immediate leadership and his undeniable heartfelt performance. Even though we got the "old" version of Charles Tillman, it was by far one of the best decisions we have ever made as an organization. To have him come here and perform the way he did, take on the leadership role and embrace it speaks volumes about who Tillman is as a player and as a human being. When all is said and done, we can look at the last season of his career alone and see the impact Charles Tillman had on the the game of football. He taught this young group of Carolina Panther players, who are full of potential, exactly what it takes to be a "Peanut".
Click below to see a video where he announces, officially, his retirement:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=17102847
Click the link below for NFL.com and their full story on Charles Tillman's career:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000675392/article/veteran-db-charles-tillman-retires-after-13-seasons
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