Luke Kuechly did not come out for the second half of Thursday night’s Eagles-Panthers game due to being evaluated for a concussion.
Those evaluations led to the All-Pro linebacker going into Carolina’s concussion protocol, the Panthers announced. Kuechly left the game during the second quarter.
This is the third concussion Kuechly has suffered in the past three seasons. He missed the final six games of last season due to a concussion, one also suffered during a Thursday-night home game. The Panthers’ cornerstone defender missed three games because of a concussion suffered during the franchise’s 2015 Super Bowl season.
Kuechly has met twice with Dr. Micky Collins, a concussion specialist, over the past two years, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter) in an effort to take his health “very seriously,” and it’s possible a third summit could commence as this problem’s now encountered another troubling chapter. A three-time first-team All-Pro, the 26-year-old Kuechly’s in his sixth season with the Panthers.
The Panthers lost Kuechly backup A.J. Klein to the Saints in free agency. A fifth-round 2015 pick out of Texas State, David Mayo is in the game at middle linebacker for Carolina.
Blegh. Poor guy. I still remember the look on his face after the concussion last year. Thought for sure he had obliterated an ACL or ripped some muscles off the bone or something. Hope he’s ok and he takes care of himself going forward if it turns out to be really bad again.
Why didn’t Newton get checked when he dove towards the end zone on the play they challenged? When he hit the ground you could see him grab his helmet then during the challenge was squatting with people gathered around him. He was drinking water and shaking his head. I don’t understand why the NFL Dr did not look at him. I guess you can’t take too many stars off the field.
Hopefully this one isn’t bad for Luke he is a great player but he can’t take many more like the last one he had. There comes a time when you need to look at quality of life over the game. Even though I can’t stand your QB heal up Luke the game is better with you on the field.