How long will Luke Kuechly be out for the Carolina Panthers?

Luke Kuechly was carted off the field Thursday night against the Saints, so how long will he be out?

Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints, one of the worst fears for the Carolina Panthers came to fruition. One of the best defensive players –scratch that, all around players– in the NFL, Luke Kuechly, was carted off the field after suffering an injury on a tackle attempt.

It was a heart-wrenching moment, not just because you saw one of the best players in the game go down on national television, but also because Kuechly was visibly sobbing on the field as he was being attended to.

Now as far as the extent of the injury, well, that’s not known at this time. All we do know, thanks to the Panthers themselves, is that Kuechly is currently being evaluated for a concussion.

Whether or not it actually does turn out to be a concussion remains to be seen, as it was tough to tell on the replay what exactly the injury was that he suffered. It first appeared as if he maybe injured his left knee, but then when he was down on the field it looked as if he was having some trouble breathing.

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Either way, there are probably a lot of people out there wondering currently just how long Kuechly might be out for the Panthers. That said, if it does come back that the former Boston College standout did suffer a concussion, then a timetable for a return may not be immediately known. Of course, as per the rules, Kuechly will have to pass all concussion protocol before he steps back onto the field.

So, for now, all we can do is hope that it doesn’t turn out to be one of the worst-case scenarios for one of the most talented linebackers that the game has ever seen.