We still don’t know whether or not Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly has a concussion. He was taken off the field in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s 23-20 win over the Saints, emotional and shaken.
Luke Kuechly’s injury casts doubts on rest of the Panthers’ season
A scary moment overshadowed Carolina’s 23-20 win over the Saints on Thursday night and left lingering questions about the rest of their season.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Kuechly got sandwiched by Saints running back Tim Hightower, who’s helmet hit him in the chest, and his own teammate, Thomas Davis, whose helmet hit the back of Kuechly’s head. The hits were devastating. Kuechly’s reaction even more so.
Whatever the diagnosis turns out to be, losing Kuechly overshadowed the Panthers’ win and shook his teammates as well as players from the Saints.
Saints safety Roman Harper, who played with Kuechly in Carolina, was at his side after he was injured.
“Luke is a great friend of mine, and anytime you see one of your friends down it’s never a good thing,” Harper said. “He’s not just an average guy to me. Seeing the way that he was, I was trying to get him to calm down and control himself.”
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen echoed the notion that this was one of those moments on the field that transcends the game.
“It’s hard. It’s one of your buddies, it’s one of your guys pretty shaken up,” he said. “There’s no real words to really describe it. It all comes down to you just hope he’s OK. It’s really all we can do.”
If this does turn out to be a concussion, and it was a similar play to the one he suffered in the first week of the season last year, it’ll be two seasons in a row that Kuechly’s had to deal with one.
It also casts a shadow over what’s left of the Panthers’ season. At 4-6, their playoff hopes are mostly a technicality. Now, they have to play two tough road games, in Oakland and Seattle, possibly without their best defensive player.
On Friday morning, Thomas Davis shared a picture of Kuechly and himself on Instagram, which didn’t confirm news about his condition one way or another, but it was good to see him smiling.
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