NFL star cuts raccoon from diet and is immediately carted off in training camp

Xavier Legette was carted off the practice field on Tuesday, after the Carolina Panthers star revealed that he’s cut raccoon from his diet.

The NFL wide receiver suffered a ‘stinger’ on a hard fall during training camp.

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Panthers coach Dave Canales confirmed Legette is okay, and that he doesn’t have a concussion.

Legette’s stinger follows news that the team were being investigated by the NFLPA after a season-ending injury on first day of camp.

The wideout now has ‘a nice little window’ to recover from the injury over the next few days, his coach added.

“Went down really hard,” Canales told reporters.

“Went in, evaluated him, cleared him of a concussion, but it looks like a stinger. We’re going to evaluate him more over the next day or so and just make sure that he’s in the right spot.”

Stingers are defined as a temporary nerve injury in the arm, neck and shoulder area, and often give a player a burning sensation.

They are commonly seen in contact sports, and most resolve quickly. However, some symptoms can last weeks or months.

According to ESPN, Legette was trying to make a catch in the corner of the end zone when he ‘came down hard’ on the back of his head.

Trainers rushed to his side and the player was seen wiggling his fingers in the air before boarding a cart.

Legette won’t play in Carolina’s preseason opener this Thursday.

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The Panthers will contest the Hall of Fame Game against the Arizona Cardinals in Canton, Ohio.

Legette was expected to battle for his team’s No. 3 receiver spot behind Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan, last year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Xavier Legette reveals he’s cut raccoon from his diet

Before going down with injury, the third-year star told Panthers Beat Writer Sheena Quick that he’s cut raccoon from his infamous diet.

Legette previously made headlines after admitting to eating raccoon on a podcast with fellow NFL star Amon-Ra St. Brown.

“I hunt it, I kill it, skin it, cook it and eat it. It’s got its own taste,” he said back in 2024.

Raccoon is not a mainstream dish in the US today, but it was once considered a staple food in the American South, where Legette was born and raised.

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He has already encouraged his teammates to try the dish, and the Panthers last season introduced ‘The Masked Bandit’ menu item at Bank of America Stadium, inspired by their wideout’s viral love of it.

But moving forward, Legette will be cutting down on his consumption. He’s dropped 12lbs ahead of the 2026 season, thanks to a change in diet.

“I only eat lean meats now, I used to eat a lot of junk food,” he told Quick, in a clip she shared Tuesday.

“I eat broccoli, asparagus, carrots. No (peppers and onions), I can’t do them.

“I’ve minimized (the raccoon). I can’t (cut it out) but I only eat it one time a year, at Thanksgiving.”

When asked if raccoon is a lean meat, Legette added: “I don’t know what that is, it’s a rodent for real. It ain’t lean, but it ain’t bad for me.”