Will the Carolina Panthers be able to boast back-to-back first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famers? Well, to be frank, it’s pretty likely.
Former linebacker Luke Kuechly joined the post-Super Bowl LVIII edition of Up & Adams—where he talked not only about the upcoming induction of fellow franchise great and ex-teammate Julius Peppers, but also about the possibility of his own. Host Kay Adams asked Kuechly, who is eligible beginning in 2025, for his thoughts on the prospect.
“I think when you think about the Hall of Fame, it’s obviously awesome,” he replied. “It’s the highest honor that you can have as a football player on an individual basis. And you look at the guys that got in there at the linebacker position, the guys I grew up watching—Derrick Brooks, Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis, obviously Pep got in. Those three guys that I mentioned and then Patrick [Willis]. And all of ’em were a little bit different.”
As he mentions, Willis is headed in—and in his first year of eligibility. Considering all that separates the two is an AP Defensive Player of the Year award and a second-team All-Pro nod (both of which belong to Luke), Thursday’s news bodes rather well for Kuechly’s immediate chances.
Kuechly went on.
“We’ll see what happens,” he added. “I did my best when I was playing. I had a lot of really good help around me from players and coaches and people in the organization. I did everything I could, I loved every second of it and now we’ll just kinda see what happens.”
