" If Jeremy Shockey can be a lifesaver for the Carolina Panthers this season like he was for teammate Ben Hartsock today, it will be a heck of a year.

Hartsock is crediting Shockey with helping save him today after Hartsock, a fellow tight end, could not breathe in the team's lunch room. A piece of pork tenderloin lodged in Hartsock's throat and Shockey came to the rescue, the National Football Post has learned.

"He said to me a little while ago, 'I really hope this doesn't get out but if it does it's going to be a funny story,'" said Chicago-based agent Mike McCartney, who represents Hartsock."