Despite a viral social media post suggesting otherwise, Carolina Panthers receiver Xavier Legette did not ride a horse to Saturday’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
ESPN’s David Newton, who covers the Panthers, initially shared an X video of men wearing cowboy hats and riding horses toward Bank of America Stadium. Legette is a known animal lover who has at least two pet horses, Dolla Bill and Dime Piece.
The video immediately took off on X, but there was one problem: Legette was not among the men in question. It is not known how he got to the stadium, but it certainly wasn’t on horseback.
Newton owned up to the mistake not long thereafter, writing, “I posted a video that caused confusion. It was not Xavier Legette, and it was my intention to make the point that it was not Xavier. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
WR Xavier Legette rode his horse to today’s playoff game vs the #Rams. #Panthers
All this to catch 1 pass for 6 yards. pic.twitter.com/8O3nbixr3d
— FirstDownMedia (@FirstDownMediaa) January 10, 2026
Numerous outlets, including Sports Illustrated, initially rode with the story (pun intended) before issuing corrections later on Saturday. Perhaps a late morning horseback ride could have helped Legette on Saturday. He managed only one catch for eight yards in the Panthers’ 34-31 loss.
The No. 32 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Legette’s career has been underwhelming thus far. He’s recorded only 84 catches for 860 yards and seven touchdowns through 31 games (25 starts) in two seasons. The 6-foot-3, 227-pound receiver has averaged 2.3 catches and 24.2 yards for the NFC South-winning Panthers.
In fairness to Legette, the Panthers haven’t had a consistent passing game in his two seasons. Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in 2023, was benched midway through the 2024 season and battled inconsistency this year. Although Young set career highs in passing yards (3,011) and passing touchdowns (23), his 47.7 QBR ranked 22nd among the 28 qualified quarterbacks. Only Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Aaron Rodgers, who finished with a 44.2 QBR, had a worse QBR among quarterbacks who led their teams to the playoffs.
Wholesome: Panthers WR Xavier Legette riding around town with his brand new horse Dime Piece 🥹😭 pic.twitter.com/nRaJmMDMIu
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 1, 2025
It is unclear whether the Panthers will pursue a veteran quarterback this offseason to compete with Young for the starting job. Young has up to two years of team control remaining if the Panthers pick up his fifth-year option. Otherwise, he could become a free agent following the 2026 season. There is no indication, though, that the Panthers won’t pick up the fifth-year option, which is expected to pay him at least $26 million in 2027.
The Panthers won’t need to decide on Legette’s fifth-year option until after next season. However, he is an interesting trade candidate if the Panthers opt to make him available and look elsewhere at receiver.
Carolina owns the No. 19 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Panthers have not won a playoff game since January 2016, and Saturday marked their first postseason game since 2018.
“This is only Year 2 of the program,” guard Robert Hunt said after the game, “and we had a playoff game here, and we took, I think, a really, really good team who I think can go win the Super Bowl to the end of the game, and you know we just fell short.”
