To some, it may have been before his time—but the retirement of Carolina Panthers great Luke Kuechly actually came right on time.
The former linebacker joined this past week’s episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, hosted by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. When touching on the difficult conversation about concussions, which had an impact on the careers of both Kuechly and Earnhardt Jr., Kuechly talked about when he knew it was time to walk away from the game.
“I love everything about football,” he said. “I love the offseason, I love training camp, I love OTAs, I love being around the guys, I like flying to games, I love playing football, I love to practice. I get to wake up every day and put sweats on and go hang out with 120 of my boys and play football and lift weights and hang out.
“But I knew . . . I got hit a few times the previous couple of years. I got hit a couple times that year, I had some other stuff that was bugging me and I just remember after one game, late in that season, I was like, ‘Man . . . I just can’t do it anymore.’ I can’t play how I want to, I can’t be as physical as I want to because stuff was starting to happen and I just remember I got home that night and I’m like, ‘Can’t do it.'”
Kuechly retired at the age of 28 due to the effects of his concussions. His career ended up spanning eight seasons—a Hall of Fame-worthy tenure decorated by a Defensive Player of the Year award, five First-team All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections.
While continuing to navigate through the topic, Kuechly then recalled the very emotional (and nationally-televised) reaction he had to a concussion back in 2016 . . .
Luke Kuechly remembers being surprised by how immediately emotional he was after suffering a concussion in 2016. 💦 pic.twitter.com/O0MyTOQqHe
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) October 16, 2024
He’d call it a career three years later.
