Seven-year-old with brain tumor tells Panthers to ‘keep pounding’

3:10 PM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two tight ends wearing No. 88 jerseys, shoulder pads and toboggans were on the Carolina Panthers practice fields on Tuesday.

One was familiar, two-time Pro bowl selection Greg Olsen.

The other barely came to the waist of the 6-foot-5 Olsen.

But on this day 7-year-old Parker Cowherd stood taller than anybody on the 90-man roster, and he wasn’t shy about giving advice.

“He told me one time to get my pads down,” Olsen said following practice. “I’m not sure where that came from or if he was just judging me, so we’re going to have to talk about that.”

Seven-year-old Parker Cowherd joined Greg Olsen on the Panthers’ practice field. Courtesy of Carolina Panthers

Parker, a first-grader from nearby Cornelius, North Carolina, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in November. He had a wish to climb Mt. Everest or play football with the defending NFC champions.

He chose playing football with the Panthers — for now.

“We’ve been talking about overcoming things and achieving greatness,” said Cowherd’s father, Jon. “We talk about that daily.

“Climbing Mt. Everest, that’s another one of those challenges of, ‘Hey, …

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