ARIZONA CARDINALS

Yes, Cardinals draft pick Robert Nkemdiche wants to buy a pet panther

Apr 28, 2016, 10:20 PM

Mississippi's Robert Nkemdiche, center, poses for photos upon arriving for the first round of the 2...

Mississippi's Robert Nkemdiche, center, poses for photos upon arriving for the first round of the 2016 NFL football draft at the Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University, Thursday, April 28, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

If you thought you’d heard the name Robert Nkemdiche before the Cardinals drafted him Thursday, maybe it was because you remember him falling out of a fourth-story window.

Or maybe, more recently, you heard he was the guy who said he’d use his first paycheck to first take care of his family and then — in this list of priorities — buy a pet panther.

ESPN’s Seth Wickersham’s profile on Nkemdiche begins with “Robert Nkemdiche wants a pet panther” before the Mountain Dew-sipping beast of a defensive lineman explains:

“It’s sick.”

It’s insane.

“No, it’s not. They’re like cats.”

Can’t he see the headline? Visitor Mauled by NFL Star Robert Nkemdiche’s Pet Panther.

“If someone comes over and is scared, I’ll put the panther away.”

But if buying a pet panther is second on Nkemdiche’s list of priorities, we can only pray that building a panther enclosure is a close No. 3 with the nearly $9 million he’ll make in his rookie season.

Anyway, fellow exotic animal lover and former Cardinals defensive lineman Darnell Dockett seems on board with Nkemdiche as a draft choice. Good bet he’s on board with the panther thing, too.

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Yes, Cardinals draft pick Robert Nkemdiche wants to buy a pet panther