SAN FRANCISCO — It was not all that long ago Jon Beason was the face of the Panthers’ defense, the hard-charging, ball-seeking middle linebacker who never, ever missed a game or, it seemed, a tackle.
From 2007 through the 2010 season, when you thought of the Panthers, you thought of Beason, a leader on the field and a wonderful representative off it.
He was there before Ron Rivera was a head coach, before Cam Newton was an MVP-favorite quarterback, before Luke Kuechly was an all-everything linebacker. Beason was there when all three arrived, witnessed the formative steps of this Panthers juggernaut, desperately wanted to stay around and reap the rewards when Rivera, Newton and Kuechly evolved into the key components on a team that stands 17-1 heading into Super Bowl 50 against the Broncos.
“You go out and have so much success and to know that if it wasn’t for unforeseen circumstances, things that are out of my control I would probably still be there,’’ Beason said. “It’s tough. For me, I’m grateful for the Panthers. I’m happy I was there long enough to experience some success and I’m always going to be a fan from afar, no matter what.
“To still have guys that are very, very close to me be on the team, guys who have gone through the ups and downs and to see them go out and do so well this year, to have the opportunity to play in a Super Bowl … if it’s not us, if it’s not myself, then they’re No. 2. They’re who I cheer for week in and week out. I want the whole organization to do well.’’
For now, “us’’ for Beason is the Giants, the team that took a shot on him in 2013, trading a seventh-round pick for him early that season, hoping his body could rebound from several issues that ruined his closing years in Carolina. Other than a 12-game run for the Giants in 2013, Beason, 31, has not been healthy and he very possibly has played his final NFL game, with surgery to repair knee cartilage awaiting him this offseason.
“I’m talking to a bunch of people, bouncing off a lot of docs,’’ said Beason, who is under contract with the Giants for 2016 for $2.8 million, with a scheduled salary cap hit of $6.5 million. “I’ll have [the surgery], I’ll go through the rehab process and see if I can be as good as I’ve ever been. That’s really my goal, I want to be a 16-game guy, I want to practice every day and I want to do it on a high level. And if I can’t I’ll make a decision based on that. But I want to be honest with myself, give myself every chance to come back and still play the game that I love.’’
For the first four years of his NFL career, Beason was a great player, amassing 140, 138, 141 and 121 tackles, starring for head coach John Fox. A series of injuries, starting with a ruptured Achilles tendon that robbed him of all but one game of the 2011 season, was Beason’s undoing. But he was there when Rivera was hired in 2011, when Newton was the No. 1 pick that same year and when Kuechly was the first-round pick in 2012.
“I can tell you one thing about Coach Rivera, for sure he’s the ultimate players’ coach and I think he’s understanding and he’s fair,’’ Beason said. “If you get your guys to buy in and believe in you, they’re going to play that much harder for you. That’s important as a coach. All you can do is wish the guy well.’’
Beason saw how Newton came through turbulent college situations to win the Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Auburn and hoped the Panthers would take him.
“He went through some stuff, some dark times, dealing with the transition from Florida, why he left Florida, the stuff with his dad, the media was just crushing this kid and most kids would have gone hide under a rock somewhere,’’ Beason said. “But all he did was go out and ball the full season, never wavering. I said this kid’s got the ‘it’ factor, which was something special, because most people would crumble under that type of scrutiny.’’
Kuechly was the ninth overall pick in 2012, selected to replace Beason at middle linebacker. The plan was for Beason to move to the weak side — a plan he shunned.
“I wanted no part of it,’’ Beason admitted. “A 4-3 [defensive] team it’s structured for the [middle linebacker] to kind of be the guy. That was my personality, I wanted to be involved in everything.’’
As it turned out, Beason got hurt again in 2012, playing in only four games.
“I thoroughly enjoyed watching Luke Kuechly go out and light it up,’’ Beason said. “You can’t put a price-tag on guys who just love to play ball and winning means a lot to them.’’
Beason wishes he could be on the field Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, but he acknowledges he will not feel a part of his Panthers glory if — as he expects — they beat the Broncos.
“No, but when I talk to the players that are still there it’s ‘Hey man, wish you were still here, you should be a part of this’ and that’s enough for me,’’ Beason said. “I was a big part of trying to make the Panthers relevant.’’