Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly suffered a hyperextended knee in their 16-8 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in their season opener. But Panthers fans should breathe a sigh of relief as the injury isn't too serious and should allow him to return reasonably soon, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com.
Per club source, Panthers LB Luke Kuechly hyperextended his knee, and is expected (like he said) to be fine. Dodged a bullet on that one.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 10, 2018
The Pro Bowler went down in the fourth quarter while tackling Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliot. The crowd held their breath when the young star went down, as he's missed significant time while dealing with concussions since being drafted No. 9 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Boston College.
Kuechly won Defensive Rookie of the Year in his first season with the Panthers and went on be named an All-Pro and Defensive Player of the Year in his sophomore season. Kuechly has a stalwart of the Panthers' defense for the past few years and is considered to be among the cream of the crop for those contending to win Defensive Player of the year in the 2018-19 season.
The Panthers got 13 tackles from their young star in Week 1. Keuchly and the coaching staff are confident that he will rejoin the team soon, but he will probably be listed on the injury report as they head into their Week 2 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.
The rest of their defense will have to step it up to fill the hole in the middle left by Keuchly if they want to take it to the Falcons on the road. Depending on how the Buccaneers perform, the Panthers may be able to snatch the top spot in the NFC South early in the season.
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