Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly has dealt with concussions throughout his NFL career so the team is trying to be very careful with him, including limiting his preseason time. Kuechly knows how serious concussions can be, but he knows to get ready for the regular season he needs to be able to hit some opposing players during the preseason.
“You can’t tackle people out here” in practice the way it is in a game, Kuechly explained via the Charlotte Observer. “I think there’s a big difference between running by a guy (with the ball) and tagging off, and tackling someone. You’ve got to do it once or twice (against another team) to get the feel for it. You’ve got to get one (hit) inside and another in space.”
Panthers coach Ron Rivera has already said that Kuechly won't be suiting up for the first preseason game, but he is going to try and convince the coaching staff to let him play in one of the following two games. Most starters don't play in the 4th preseason game so if he was to play it would be in the 2nd or 3rd game.
Kuechly has already sat out a couple of days so far during training camp after he was involved in a pileup. Kuechly told the training staff he was good to go back in, but the team wanted to play it safe.
“I got hit, like, weird on the side. It’s all good,” Kuechly said of injury that knocked him out of practice. It clearly rankles him to be restricted.
“I’ve been in timeout for a little while,” Kuechly said. “I get bored (watching practice). I think football is fun. I enjoy being out there.”
It might be hard for Kuechly to convince the coaching staff that he should play, but he is going to try his hardest to get on the field before the regular season starts.
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