Ex-49er Ted Ginn Jr. says Carolina Panthers welcomes him

SAN JOSE - Ted Ginn Jr. sees himself a little like Rocky:

The talented but underappreciated underdog who shows flashes of greatness and, through hard work and determination, finally comes out on top.

Ginn, now a Carolina Panther, spent three years with the 49ers, first as a receiver but then relegated to special teams as a punt and kickoff return specialist.

He’s back in the Bay Area now, but as a member of the Carolina Panthers, set to line up against the Denver Broncos Sunday in Super Bowl 50.

Ginn, 30, said this week he’s pleased to return to the San Francisco area and said he bears no ill will toward the team and fans who pretty much gave up on him after a three-year stint with the Niners.

“It’s a great feeling to be here in San Francisco,” he said. “My kids were born here. They get to come back and see their friends.”

Still, he acknowledged he didn’t feel as “cherished” during his time with the Niners as he does now with Carolina.

Ginn played with the Niners in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans in 2013, which they lost to Baltimore, 34-31. He put San Francisco in position to score with a 32-yard punt return.

Selected as a first-round draft pick from Ohio State in 2007 for his blazing open-ground speed, Ginn’s career has progressed unevenly.

His first three years at Miami, he played in every game, starting all but a dozen. He set a Dolphins rookie record for combined yards (2,086) and played key roles in receiving and special teams.

But after San Francisco acquired him in a trade for a fifth-round draft choice in 2010, his production dropped significantly, he suffered ankle and knee injuries and in the final year, his role was limited to returns as he gained a reputation as a pass dropper.

His last year with the Niners was the most difficult personally and professionally for him.

That year, Ginn’s father - his idol, mentor, coach - was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Ted Ginn Sr. spent 65 days in the hospital, sometimes so sick he couldn’t even speak when his son called after a game to update him.

“When your father goes down… ” he said, trailing off. “I didn’t know if he was going to come up out of it.”

The Super Bowl three years ago this month was the first game the senior Ginn was able to see after he got out of the hospital. He watched his son from a wheelchair.

“And to know that every day I had to get up and go play football for somebody who didn’t cherish me, that was hard. Real hard,” Ginn Jr. told Greg Bishop of SI.com.

“It’s your dad on his deathbed. I’m not kidding - on his deathbed.”

Ginn signed with Carolina two months later as an unrestricted free agent. He left again a year later and played with Arizona in 2014, before being released in Feb. 2015. He signed again with the Panthers in March 2015.

Ginn said Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was one of his biggest backers in his return to Carolina.

“He said, ‘Let’s have the best year we’ve ever had,’” Ginn said.

When wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin was lost for the season with a torn ACL, some said the Panthers receiving corps was doomed, a group of misfits.

Newton stuck up for them.

“Those guys have been playing lights out since day one, to say the least, from Ted Ginn (Jr.), who was a bust for so many people. I heard Jerricho Cotchery was washed up 10 years ago, Philly Brown had no hands, Devin Funchess was too high of a pick for the Carolina Panthers, Brenton Bersin - who knows who he is - and just things of that sort,” Newton said.

“But for us, we didn’t let anyone else dictate to us that we knew what we were capable of. It’s a very close-knit group and guys selling out for each other.”

Ginn said he could “be a No. 1 guy.” The pieces of the puzzle just hadn’t fit yet.

“My whole career has been up and down. It’s like Rocky,” he said. “He goes to the top step. At the top, he rumbles and dances and then gets back on his path.”

Many of the Panthers have described being part of a “brotherhood” and having fun with each other, even loving one other. A lot of players say that, but Ginn insists it’s true with this group, who went 15-1 in the regular season and downed the Seahawks 31-24 in the NFC divisional round before rolling through the Arizona Cardinals, 49-15, in the NFC championship game.

“Here, it’s a joyful spot. When you walk in that door, you feel love. When you walk in the Panthers’ facility, it’s not like you’re going to work. It’s like I’m coming here being with my brothers.”

This season - when he is averaging 16.8 yards per reception and led the team with 10 touchdown catches - has revitalized him.

“It gave me belief. It gave me hope,” he said. “It’s showed that I was a fighter. It showed that no matter what you go through, you can still stand at the end of the line, walk yourself to the front and still do what you need to do.

“I think this year was my shot, and I just took off winning.”

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 521-5470 or lori.carter@ pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.