Panthers’ Luke Kuechly ruled out for Sunday

The Carolina Panthers will be without star inside linebacker Luke Kuechly on Sunday when they play the Houston Texans at Bank of America Stadium, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

This does not come as a surprise to head coach Ron Rivera. Kuechly was not able to practice throughout the week because of a nasty concussion sustained in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kuechly has been nothing short of a tackling machine since coming into the NFL in 2012. The All-Pro has 480 career tackles, with at least 153 every season.

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Without Kuechly, the Panthers will be relying heavily on reserve linebacker David Mayo, who is normally on special teams exclusively. He will have serious guidance, however, with Thomas Davis standing to his left.

Carolina has sustained some major injuries throughout the early part of the campaign. In training camp, the Panthers got together with the Miami Dolphins and lost star receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a torn ACL in the practice. Without Benjamin, quarterback Cam Newton still has tight end Greg Olsen to rely on, but has Philly Brown and Tedd Ginn Jr. as his starting receivers. After giving Newton a five-year, $103.8 million extension, general manager Dave Gettleman can not be thrilled about that result.

The Panthers are 1-0 after defeating Jacksonville last Sunday, and now welcome in a Houston team that is changing quarterbacks. The Texans were beaten soundly last week by the Kansas City Chiefs and decided to bench Brian Hoyer in favor or Ryan Mallett. Head coach Bill O’Brien is still without All-Pro running back Arian Foster, who is recovering from a groin injury.