CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers had 10 to 12 defensive calls that didn’t get to the huddle properly on Sunday because of an issue with headsets. Special-teams gunner Trenton Cannon got tangled in a television wire on the sideline that whipped around and hit several teammates and coach Matt Rhule’s son.
But perhaps the biggest item in the blooper reel from the Panther's Week 1 34-30 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders might have come from wide receiver Robby Anderson.
He mistook the team mascot, Sir Purr, for a bear. The exchange, caught on tape:
Robby Anderson: What's that bear doing?
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) September 16, 2020
DJ Moore: Bear????
Robby: Panther
DJ: That's Sir Purr, Bro
Robby: Y'all call him that?
Me: 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/rbU9mN2yns
“What’s that bear doing?” said a mic’ed up Anderson as he sat on the bench next to fellow wide receivers Curtis Samuel and DJ Moore.
“Bear?” said a seemingly confused Moore.
Anderson directed his attention to Sir Purr, dressed in a white No. 00 jersey, running around the stands with no fans.
“That’s Sir Purr, bro,” Moore explained.
Replied Anderson: “Who?”
“Sir Purr,” Moore said.
“How you say that?” Anderson asked.
“Sir Purr,” Samuel offered.
“Sir Purr. Oh, Sir Purr. ... Wow!” Anderson said. “You call him that?”
Moore: “Yeah, that’s his name.”
“So you be like, ‘What’s up, Sir Purr?” Anderson said, staring back into the stands.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Anderson knew what to do when the Raiders' defensive back bit on his quick move and fell down midway through the fourth quarter. He kept running, and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hit him in stride for what turned into a 75-yard touchdown that gave the Panthers a 30-27 lead.
Anderson, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal during the offseason, finished with six catches for 115 yards.
But it’s been the sideline video of Anderson calling the Panthers’ mascot a bear that has gotten him the most attention.
It became so popular that teammates were getting it sent to them via text.
“Robby be trippin’ sometimes,” Bridgewater said. “He’ll be in his own little world, but he’s special, man. He’s one of those guys, he’s all ball. When I saw the video, asking what that’s bear doing, that’s just Robby being Robby.”
Robby being Robby is the same description wide receiver Pharoh Cooper used when talking about the video.
“Yeah, Robby is a little different, but that’s what makes Robby [Robby],” Cooper said. “It’s hard to really describe him. ... He just kind of be in his own world. But he’s a cool cat.”
At least a quirky cat. To be fair, Cooper didn’t realize Carolina’s mascot was a Panther until Sunday.
“I didn’t know who he was until I saw the video,” Cooper said.